Perfecting the smile: Operation Smile and Dermatix are giving kids every reason to smile

It takes 43 muscles to frown and only 17 muscles to smile. Judging by that simple piece of trivia, smiling should be the easiest act to do. It doesn’t take a lot to smile. You only need a good reason to do it.

Reasons to smile are bountiful this 2013 as Operation Smile in partnership with Dermatix gave children with cleft lips and palates the opportunity to have the perfect smile during the foundation’s 30th anniversary surgical missions last November 2012.

Those born with cleft lips and/or palates have difficulty in smiling, which is unfortunate given the many reasons for them to smile. Even after these patients undergo surgery, the scars get in the way.

Scars have lingering effects, not only on the physical but also the emotional, psychological, and social aspects of a person with a facial deformity.

Even though scars are the body’s way of healing itself after a major trauma, it leaves marks of their former pain. Scars take away a person’s self-esteem as they wallow in the endless taunts of people who perceived them as freaks.Imagine a child growing up to such an environment while they try to grin and bear these circumstances, even without a proper smile to grin with.

Operation Smile, in partnership with the scar expert, Dermatix is giving these children a reason to smile – and it’s not just because they can physically do so. A perfected smile erases every hint of the pain they used to feel. It gives emotions the avenue to express itself through smile and laughter. Dermatix is Operation Smile’s perfect partner in creating smiles. It is formulated with CPX (cyclopentasiloxane) technology for better flattening and softening of scars while providing Vitamin C ester for photoprotection and skin lightening.

Dermatix is recommended by plastic surgeons and is easy to apply. It is safe for children and has excellent cosmetic properties that give it a smooth and silky feel. Dermatix promises scar reduction in as early as seven days for people who went through facial surgery.

The Philippines has an unwanted abundance of scarred babies born every year with cleft lips and/or palates. For every one in 500 babies born with the facial deformity, this number could go up to 4,004 Filipinos out of the 2,064 million born yearly. In fact, the country’s Department of Health agrees that cleft lip and palates are among the top 12 birth defects in the country.

Thanks to Operation Smile Philippines, over 24,000 Filipinos are given the opportunity to have the perfect smile. And as they continue to forge more partnerships with brands such as Dermatix, more and more Filipino children with facial deformities are given access to a happy and normal life, giving every child a reason to smile.

To learn more about Operation Smile Philippines and opportunities to help, visit   http://philippines.operationsmile.org.