Smile Train India

Smile Train has introduced a complimentary, engaging mobile application available on both iOS and Android platforms. This app is specifically designed for children with clefts, offering them a platform to improve their speech using their smartphones or tablets. Within the application, children will discover an array of digital stories and interactive games, meticulously crafted to address the speech difficulties typically encountered by individuals with clefts. Moreover, the app provides comprehensive resources, including written notes and instructive video tutorials, enabling caregivers to gain insights into their child's speech development and equipping them with the knowledge to support their child in overcoming speech challenges.

In regions where it is accessible, Smile Train collaborates with its partners to facilitate essential services such as general counselling, feeding and nutritional advice, and speech therapy, using digital platforms like WhatsApp, Zoom, or Facebook. This offers a crucial avenue for families to access personalized guidance and assistance, even in situations where they cannot physically visit a cleft care team, ensuring their continued support and access to vital information.

Optimal timing for cleft-affected parents to engage in psychological counseling is right at the moment when a cleft is first detected during an ultrasound. Mothers, in particular, often benefit from emotional support as they grapple with their feelings about their child's condition and need to prepare for the immediate feeding challenges following childbirth.
It's crucial to acknowledge that clefts can have a significant psychological impact on the children themselves. Access to mental health services from an early age can empower these children to navigate life with confidence and self-assurance, even in the face of potential bullying and stigma.
Valuable support can be accessed through CLEFTLINE, a toll-free helpline for information about clefts, reachable at 1800 103 8301.

Children with clefts frequently require orthodontic care. Cleft orthodontics primarily centers on aligning teeth, overseeing facial growth, and correcting bite alignment. The necessity for such treatment may arise at different developmental stages, contingent upon the surgical interventions necessary for the child.

While cleft surgery can be performed at any age, the consensus among experts is that cleft lips are ideally addressed within the initial three to six months after birth, and cleft palates should be treated between nine and 12 months of age. The number of surgeries a child may undergo in their first 20 years varies based on the severity of their cleft condition and other individual factors.

Infants with clefts, particularly those with cleft palates, can face challenges in feeding, which heightens the risk of malnourishment. To address this concern, Smile Train, in collaboration with the global organization SPOON, has introduced a comprehensive two-day course focused on optimizing cleft feeding. The primary objective is to equip local professionals with the knowledge and skills needed to educate mothers and caregivers on proficient breastfeeding, safe bottle/spoon/cup feeding, and the weaning process. Additionally, the course encompasses strategies for effectively managing malnutrition in children with clefts.

Smile Train provides an introductory online course in collaboration with Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City, focusing on effective cleft palate speech care. The training's core objective is to equip a greater number of speech therapists and paraprofessionals with techniques to enhance children's speech and quality of life. Upon completing the course, participants have the option to take an ASHA-approved CEU exam.
Additionally, the organisation also offer "Train the Trainer" manuals designed for local trainers specializing in cleft speech therapy. These manuals render the course readily available for local trainers across the globe to download and effectively train the next generation of cleft care professionals.

Smile Train has created the Nursing Care Saves Lives curriculum to acknowledge and emphasize the pivotal role of nurses in patient care and safety. This curriculum is specifically designed to equip nurses at Smile Train partner institutions with the crucial skills necessary to deliver top-notch nursing care to children undergoing cleft surgery.

In resource-constrained environments, acquiring safe and top-tier surgical training, especially for specialized procedures like cleft lip and palate surgery, can pose a significant challenge.
The organisation’s mission is to guarantee that surgeons and aspiring trainees worldwide have access to cutting-edge and efficient tools for cleft surgery training. Through collaboration with Simulare, a Division of Smile Train, it offers hyper-realistic 3D-printed simulators for cleft lip and palate surgery. These simulators elevate the level of realism in surgical training, ultimately contributing to safer and higher-quality procedures for each and every patient, without exception.

The Simulator represents a state-of-the-art, interactive, and freely accessible 3D simulation technology that imparts training for a wide range of intricate cleft surgical procedures. This software is designed to be multilingual, seamlessly integrating real intra-operative surgical footage captured in the operating room with interactive animated three-dimensional content, text labels, and voiceover narration to create an immersive and comprehensive learning experience.

On September 22, 2021, Smile Train officially declared its dedicated five-year commitment to amplifying its investments in global nutrition. By the conclusion of 2026, its intensified focus on nutrition, achieved through awareness campaigns, advocacy, program expansion, partnerships, health worker training, and educational initiatives, will yield the following outcomes:
• Over one million mothers and children will benefit from specialized cleft-specific feeding counseling.
• More than 55,000 cases of child malnutrition will be prevented.
• Over 40,000 educational opportunities will be provided in the realm of cleft feeding and nutrition.
• Empowerment of more than 1,000 partner hospitals in over 70 countries to deliver nutrition services to every mother and child affected by cleft.
• Establishment of a coordinated network involving more than 250 partner hospitals offering advanced nutritional care for malnourished children with clefts.