A White Rock orthodontic clinic is rallying the community to cast votes to help improve the smiles of children with facial deformities.
"Having them fixed up… for them, would be like the icing on the cake," said Dr. Dorothy Sonya of White Rock Orthodontic Centre, in explaining the difference a $100,000 Pepsi Refresh Project grant could make. "We hope to be able to help a lot of kids with this."
Sonya is among a team of experts who volunteer at BC Children's Hospital's cleft palate and cranio-facial program, which treats children with defects including openings in the lip, the roof of the mouth and the bones of the upper jaw. Each year, more than 400 Canadian children are born with such cleft or cranio-facial defects.
Much of the corrective work performed at the BCCH clinic, including dental implants, is not government-funded, leaving many children whose families can't afford it to go through life with missing or deformed teeth.
Money from the Pepsi Refresh contest would help those children, Sonya said. Since launching, 29 projects have received grants ranging from $5,000 to $100,000, based on online voting.
As of Monday, Spring for Kids Foundation – which supports the BC Children's Hospital program – had the third-highest number of votes in the $100,000-grant category, behind Langley Animal Protection Society and L'aréna des Iles.
If Spring wins, the money would fund 10 dental-implant surgeries, provide 15 children with dental restoration and create interactive education materials.
Voting continues through the end of April. For more information, visit www.refresheverything.ca/springforkids