Nonprofit Needs Referring Dentists’ Help to Locate Kids in Need of Braces

Nonprofit Needs Referring Dentists’ Help to Locate Kids in Need of Braces 

In partnership with the nonprofit, Smiles Change Lives, orthodontists across the U.S. and Canada currently have thousands of treatment spots open for kids in need of financial help with braces. Unfortunately, in many communities, kids are not applying, and these spots are going unused, because families simply do not know about the program. 

Smiles Change Lives is a national nonprofit that helps kids get braces who could not otherwise afford them. On average, braces cost $6,500 per child, making them out of reach for many hard working families. Further, orthodontic treatment has long been considered cosmetic by insurance companies, providing little assistance, even for those that are insured. As a result, many children and teens suffer unnecessary discomfort and embarrassment from their misaligned teeth. Smiles Change Lives mission is to provide these families with the opportunity to provide their children with braces. 

Established in 1997, Smiles Change Lives has a network of over 800 partner orthodontists who donate their services to kids in their communities. Thanks to the generosity of these participating orthodontists, Smiles Change Lives is actively seeking qualified applicants to fill these openings. The program requires that kids have good oral hygiene, which they must maintain through regular dental exams throughout treatment. As such, general dentists and their staff have proven to be the best referral source to the program. This provides dentists with the unique opportunity to provide families that qualify with the gift of braces, providing goodwill for both their practice and their staff. 

To qualify for the program, a child must be between the ages of 7-18, have good oral hygiene, not be wearing braces currently, have a moderate to severe need for braces, and meet certain financial guidelines(e.g., for a family of 4 in the Midwest, the average family income must be below $48,500; income guidelines vary based upon region, though). An application must be submitted to the program for approval, which can be found at www.smileschangelives.org/apply. 

In the words of a mother whose daughter recently completed treatment, “On behalf of myself and daughter, please accept our deepest thanks for a life changing experience for my daughter. She smiles all the time now and has a sense of confidence I’ve never seen before. To everyone responsible please know that you have helped another child regain a huge part of herself back. She may go on to change the world in a better way now; just like SCL did for her.” 

To date, Smiles Change Lives and its network of orthodontists have helped more than 10,000 kids receive braces in the United States and Canada. Please watch this short video to learn why so many dental offices partner with Smiles Change Lives: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aKGn2nR2Gus  

About Smiles Change Lives: Smiles Change Lives provides access to life-changing orthodontic treatment for children from families that cannot afford the full cost of braces. Headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, the program has treated more than 10,000 children since 1997 through its network of over 800 partner orthodontists. With its origin as the Virginia Brown Community Orthodontic Partnership, Smiles Change Lives has emerged as the nation’s leader in providing access to orthodontic care for qualified children. For more information, visit http://www.smileschangelives.org.