Hirsche Smiles Foundation (HSF) is a nonprofit organization that takes plastic surgery and dental teams to underprivileged areas in Guatemala. The plastic surgery team provides surgery for children with cleft lip and/or palates, burns and deformed ears, fingers and toes without charge to the patient or family. HSF works with in-country sponsors to provide plastic and reconstructive surgery for needy children and dental care and dental health education to families who do not have access to these services.

Why is our help needed?

Thousands of children and young adults in Guatemala and Mexico live in poverty and have no access to surgical and dental care or dental health education to improve the quality of their lives. Children may grow up with birth defects that can easily be repaired, if they can just get to the help they need. Families in these areas do not have access to dental care and by the time they are in their teens or twenties, they need to have tooth extractions of several teeth due to tooth decay.

How do we help?

Hirsche Smiles Foundation visits Guatemala and Mexico with teams of medical professionals and other volunteers. The effort to help is two-fold: Surgical Intervention and Dental Services. We provide care without charge to families who cannot afford to get the needed interventions from local dentists or surgeons.

The Surgical team consists of volunteer surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and other health professionals who perform and assist in surgery on needy children with birth defects such as cleft lip and palate deformities, extra fingers or toes, and disfiguring scars due to burns or other accidents.

Dental Services team consists of dentists, dental assistants, and volunteers who visit families in remote mountain villages throughout  Guatemala.  Our team is able to perform restorations and sealants to preserve teeth as well as extractions on teeth that are too damaged to save. HSF teams also instruct families on proper dental hygiene.

Hirsche Smiles Foundation Needs Your Help

The foundation relies solely on contributions from private individuals, businesses and other charitable organizations. We are able to keep overhead to a minimal amount by using volunteer office staff and donated space. Those who volunteer to go on trips donate their time and pay their own way. This sacrifice on everyone’s part allows the foundation to use nearly all of the contributions for the care of the children.