You Can Help Dentsply Sirona and Smile Train Set a Guinness World Record

Dr Juan Pablo Gómez and Dr Carolina Tellez explain how the usage of digital technology like Dentsply Sirona’s intraoral scanner Primescan is advancing the treatment of babies and children with clefts. | Dentsply Sirona

Long a supporter of helping people possess healthy smiles, dental manufacturer Dentsply Sirona is hoping to help Smile Train make history by setting a new Guinness World RecordTM, and to raise awareness about clefts and to help children and all people with clefts around the world.

Since 2021, Dentsply Sirona and Smile Train have partnered to advance the provision of safe, high quality, and expert cleft care from diagnosis through to comprehensive care delivery. To date, the manufacturer has proudly helped to fund cleft surgeries for over 1,000 children, according to Dentsply Sirona.

Record-setting Smiles

To set the new record, the campaign needs the participation of thousands of people–more than 20,000–from all over the world, to submit pictures of their smiles in an online photo album. Everyone older than age 13 is encouraged to participate by uploading a photo sharing their smile.* To participate, go to everysmile.org/dentsplysirona and click on “I WANT TO MAKE HISTORY!” Additional information is available on the website, and the platform makes it easy to participate; it provides help with positioning your smiling mouth, snapping the picture, and uploading it.

Appropriately, the record-setting campaign kicks off in July, which is National Cleft and Craniofacial Awareness and Prevention Month and runs through World Smile Day®, October 6, 2023. While setting a new Guinness World RecordTM is a fun goal, the campaign is also designed to increase awareness about clefts. Dentsply Sirona seeks people around the world to join hands and support even more children in getting access to cleft care. The company invites everyone to share their smile, unite to help Smile Train set the record by October 6, 2023, and then Dentsply Sirona plans to donate $20,000 USD to Smile Train in support of additional life-changing cleft surgeries.

“We are proud to help shine a light on the important work that Smile Train does to help children and all people with clefts around the world,” Erania Brackett, Senior Vice President Orthodontic Aligner Solutions & Customer Experience and Head of Sustainability at Dentsply Sirona, says in a press release this week. “I am excited to see our global community rally together for an ambitious campaign to set a Guinness World Record and to see the beautiful diversity of thousands of smiles from people all over the world in support of an amazing cause.”

A Brighter Future for Children

Every 3 minutes, a baby is born with cleft, according to Dentsply Sirona. It is common for people with cleft to have difficulties with everyday necessities such as eating, breathing, hearing, and speaking. It can also lead to emotional and psychological issues and affect the development in children, especially when left untreated or unmanaged.

When access to care is available, the treatment of cleft lip and/or palates starts as soon as possible after the baby is born. As they grow and develop and depending on the severity of their cleft and other factors, children can go through multiple surgeries as well as various types of dental treatments, such as orthodontic, endodontic and implant treatment during their first 20 years.

“We’re passionate about smiles because we know what a serious business they are. As an organization that supports free cleft surgeries and comprehensive cleft care, including oral health care, we are embarking on a global effort to honor all smiles by setting a world record,” Susannah Schaefer, president and CEO of Smile Train, adds in the press release.

Related Reading: Dentsply Sirona and Smile Train Continue Partnership

Support from partnerships such as the one with Dentsply Sirona and Smile Train is essential for the future of cleft care. Today’s cleft treatments are safe, effective, and lifesaving but not accessible to all. Digitalization, however, is playing a key role in increasing access to oral care and has much potential for cleft care, supporters state. Together in partnership with Smile Train and the FDI World Dental Federation, Dentsply Sirona supported the development of the first-ever global standard protocols for digitalized cleft treatment. Also, the groups back a clinical education course that offers cleft professionals in-depth training on digital cleft care protocols, along with support in integrating digital technologies into their treatment plans. Combining the right technology, with the necessary infrastructure and education, Dentsply Sirona says, these new protocols make the entire treatment process easier for patients and their families and will provide cleft professionals support in advancing cleft care with confidence.

The dental manufacturer’s partnership with Smile Train is part of its sustainability strategy “BEYOND: Taking action for a brighter world,” and mission to transform dentistry to improve oral health globally.

*See website for additional Terms and Conditions. Smile Train and Dentsply Sirona are separate data controllers. Smile Train is fully accountable for the data processing activities, for example, the photos. No personal data will be disclosed to, transferred to, or accessed by Dentsply Sirona.