A new smile waiting in the new year

MANILA, Philippines - The new year brings with it hope and happiness. The future is bright and warm for anyone given the ability to smile at life and its unpredictable twists and turns.  Some lucky children were given hope and happiness this New Year by two generous organizations looking to help kids and adults with facial deformities. This New Year, they got a new smile.

Operation Smile Philippines and the scar expert Dermatix partnered to give 30 more kids new smiles as they rang in the New Year. They were given the opportunity to put a smile on the faces of those scarred terribly by the pain of living with a cleft lip and/or palate.

A scar is a natural repercussion of healing. It occurs when the skin repairs wounds caused by accident, surgery or disease. Scar formation is affected by age, location, and genes.

But scars are not limited to physical manifestations. More often than not, scars, especially facial scars, affect the way a person perceives himself regardless of who he is and what he’s done.

Facial scars can negatively affect a patient’s self-esteem. It is with great wonder how people with cleft lips and/or palates survive the continuing pangs of being different. Thus, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Operation Smile Philippines and Dermatix are exerting much effort and support for such a cause.

Dermatix is an advanced scar formula that integrates the innovative CPX (cyclopentasiloxane) technology to flatten and soften scars while providing vitamin C ester for photoprotection and skin lightening.

A formula recommended by doctors, Dermatix is easy to apply and safe to use even for children. It also has excellent cosmetic properties that give it a smooth and silky feel.

With Dermatix, scar reduction can be seen in as early as seven days for facial surgeries.

Operation Smile is present in over 60 countries worldwide including Cambodia, China, Egypt, India, Peru, Russia, Venezuela, Vietnam, and the Philippines, which is where the organization was founded 30 years ago.

In the Philippines alone, Operation Smile has served over 24,000 kids and adults with facial deformities.

In the Philippines, one in every 500 babies born every year has a cleft lip, palate or both. That means that around 4,004 babies out of the 2,064 million born do not have the physical tools to give a smile that they deserve.

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