Often at Smiles Change Lives (SCL), we hear the refrain “Is Smiles Change Lives too good to be true?” The answer is a resounding, NO!!! SCL is exactly what it purports to be – an organization offering a hand up to those families who can’t afford the full cost of braces.
Why the skepticism? My opinion is that it is rooted in people’s general fear that someone is out to take advantage of them. This distrust is born of a society wherein the only “help” offered to the public is for those at the bottom of the economic ladder. The notion that assistance might be available to those who do not meet the generally accepted definition of “poor” – i.e. those who cannot take care of themselves – seems so out of place that many believe it can’t possibly be real.
For those who succumb to this unwarranted fear, paralysis sets in and an opportunity to provide needed orthodontics treatment is lost.
Participation in SCL is not free. It requires the active support of the family in being compliant and responsible for fulfilling treatment directions set up by the orthodontist, as well as a required financial investment of $600. This is an investment opportunity in the future of your child, one in which you are a partner and one in which the outcome is almost always successful.
SCL is dedicated to the ‘not so novel’ idea off helping people help themselves. That is why we have received the support and backing of: the 3M Corporation, the American Association of Orthodontists, the California Association of Orthodontists, AT&T, Sprint, and countless other organizations. If SCL were a scam, why would these organizations associate with us? Why would over 800 orthodontists and 8,000 families across the U.S. and Canada be a part of our family?