Dental News - Callie’s confident smile

Dental Tribune USA

Tue. 23 September 2014

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NEW YORK, N.Y., USA: Sixteen-year-old Callie comes from a single-parent home in Kaufman, Texas. Her mother works hard as an emergency room nurse but often struggles to meet her family’s needs. For years, the family lived in a home with no heating or air conditioning, and regular dental visits were often neglected due to more pressing needs such as fixing a leaky roof.

Cara Thomas, Callie’s advisor from the Boys & Girls Club, describes Callie’s life as “full of heartache.”

Callie’s challenges in life were made worse by her crooked, chipped teeth. She was self-conscious about her smile and often hid her expressions to avoid showing her teeth. She loved being a part of her school’s drill team but felt anxious for every performance, knowing that her peers may notice her broken smile. In addition to affecting her confidence, Callie’s dental issues also caused physical pain.

When Callie learned that Dr. Randall Callison had volunteered to provide pro bono services to restore her smile, she was thrilled. She knew a healthy smile would give her the confidence to live her life more fully and pursue her dreams. Callie’s goal is to become a nurse, like her mother. Her beautiful smile will bring joy and comfort to her patients one day.

Callie’s transformation was made possible by Tomorrow’s SMILES, a teen program of National Children’s Oral Health Foundation: America’s ToothFairy. Created with a founding gift from Dr. Ronald Goldstein and sponsored by 3M ESPE and the Patterson Foundation, this program provides at-risk teens with smile-saving dental services to help restore their self-confidence and prepare them for healthy and productive futures.

Caring volunteer dentists like Callison provide donated services for prescreened, underserved teens and have access to generously donated products from Invisalign.

Now Callie can’t stop smiling as she sings in church and dances with the drill team. When she’s not in school, Callie volunteers at her local Boys & Girls Club. Thomas says that during the summers and holidays Callie comes nearly every day to mentor the youth in her community. Grateful for her healthy smile, Callie plans to “Pay It Forward” by helping educate younger children in her community about the importance of oral health.

Thomas applauds Callie as a positive role model for children and other teens her age. “Instead of falling to the temptations of peer pressure,” Thomas said, “she has chosen to pour herself into more positive avenues, even inspiring my own younger children to do the same!”

You can help transform a teen’s needless suffering into a beautiful smile and the promise of a happy, healthy future by volunteering for the America’s ToothFairy Tomorrow’s SMILES program. Register today at www.TomorrowsSMILES.org or visit www.AmericasToothFairy.org to learn more about all of our life-changing programs.

(Source: National Children’s Oral Health Foundation)

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