Launching new educational resources to help improve standards of care for children with clefts
FDI joined forces with Smile Train, to launch new educational resources, aimed at improving the quality of life for children born with clefts. Read and share.
Globally, every three minutes a baby is born with a cleft, that’s 540 babies every day. Babies born with a cleft often struggle to eat, breathe, hear, speak, and thrive. Every child has the right to good oral health, which is why FDI joined forces with Smile Train, to launch new educational resources, aimed at improving the quality of life for people born with clefts.
The aim is to empower oral health professionals and local cleft teams with training and resources to improve oral health and provide comprehensive cleft care.
“As oral health professionals, we know the long-term impact that oral diseases can have on the overall health, development and well-being of children and adults,” said FDI President Prof. Ihsane Ben Yahya. “By ensuring individuals with cleft receive timely surgery and oral healthcare we can safeguard their integration into society, give them self-confidence and the potential to succeed in their scholarship.”
To learn more about the resources, you are encouraged to watch the supporting webinar, where panellists gave an overview of the resources, discussed implementation strategies, and shared a recent case study from Nigeria.
The current literature gaps were also discussed as well as access to cleft education and treatment. Other highlights included how Smile Train funding supports the training of establishments and provision of cleft care, and the supporting advocacy work that is carried out by FDI and Smile Train to ensure that cleft is incorporated into global health and development agenda priorities.
The Oral Health in Comprehensive Cleft Care project is supported by GSK Consumer Healthcare.
