World Smile Day

Friday 4^th October is World Smile Day, a celebration of kindness, generosity, and, of course, smiles!

CLAPA is the UK’s cleft lip and palate support charity; we believe all smiles and the stories behind them should be celebrated.

This World Smile Day, make a donation to support CLAPA’s work and you’ll receive a limited edition Smiley Face pin badge.

Why do we celebrate every smile?

Around 660 babies are born with a cleft lip every year in the United Kingdom. A cleft lip is one or two gaps in the upper lip; these can range from a little notch in the coloured part of the lip to one or two gaps that go up into the nostril. It happens early in pregnancy when the different parts of a baby’s face don’t come together all the way. Learn more about cleft lip and palate.

Babies with a cleft lip may look different, but that doesn’t bother them. The cleft lip doesn’t hurt, and they can laugh and smile just like any other baby.

They will have surgery to close the gap in their lip when they’re just 3-6 months old. Some people call this getting a ‘forever smile’. It can be extremely difficult for parents and carers to come to terms with the change to their baby’s face, but many say they feel lucky to be able to fall in love with two smiles!

“As soon as I saw [my son], I fell in love instantly! He has brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. We are lucky that we can say we fell in love with his smile twice!”

The families we talk to tell us how important it is for them to celebrate both the smile their baby was born with and the smile they were given through cleft lip repair surgery.

“We have photos of [our daughter] before her lip repair all through the house. We want her to know she was beautiful to us from the moment she was born and to grow up feeling proud of looking different.”

As these babies grow up into children and then adults, most will have a visible scar on their lip. Their cleft might have changed the shape of their nose and affected their teeth. Adults born with a cleft can struggle with the idea that others are negatively judging how they look. That’s why we think it’s so important to celebrate every smile and share the stories of those who have learned to love what they see in the mirror.

Read more stories from parents and carers and adults born with a cleft.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Cleft Lip & Palate Association (@clapacommunity)

CLAPA works to help everyone affected by cleft in the UK feel positive, connected, and in control of their treatment. We celebrate every smile, and help our community to do the same.

This World Smile Day, make a donation or set up a regular gift to support our work, and you’ll receive a limited edition CLAPA Smiley Face pin badge!

Wear it with pride to raise awareness of cleft and remind those around you to celebrate every smile.

Can’t see the donation widget? Make your donation directly on CAF instead.

How can your donation make a difference?

• £50 could provide a new family with a free Welcome Pack of special bottles and teats so they can bring their baby home from the hospital
• £30 could pay for a place at a support group meeting so people born with a cleft and their parents, carers and grandparents can share experiences and find a community
• £10 a month over a year could pay for in-depth answers for someone struggling to access cleft treatment
• £50 a month over a year could pay for a place at a life-changing Camp CLAPA weekend for young people to have fun, build confidence, and make friends for life