A smile! It brightens our face, invites others to smile back and is a good endorphin rush. It can raise our self-esteem and make us feel happy. A smile helps you feel and act in a more personable way, exuding a feeling of positive energy.
But what if you loved to smile but your smile made you self-conscientious, embarrassed and unable to feel good about yourself. Being unhappy with our smile usually means we don’t do it very often. Meet Anna. Anna is a 10 year old girl who wanted to help someone feel better about them self, to help them feel happy. Anna’s mom, Kellan Duffy, is the co-founder of Bridge the Gap Mission, which helps indigent people in SE Raleigh and low-income areas around the Triangle. So when Anna’s birthday came around she decided to spend her birthday money on helping someone smile.
Meet Denise Mclean. Denise came to Bridge the Gap Mission about a year and a half ago. She came to purchase some clothes. Denise asked if Kellan knew anyone that could help her with her teeth. Her smile was extremely important to her and she felt embarrassed about how bad they looked. At the time Kellan didn’t know anyone, but never forgot Denise. In August 2015 Anna had been to 2 birthday parties of close friends who had asked for donations for the SPCA instead of gifts. She wanted to do that also but wanted to choose a different recipient.
Kellan had remembered her conversation with Denise and shared it with Anna, who has worked closely with her mom and knew about Denise. She quickly decided that’s what she wanted to do. Anna decided to check out dental offices that may be able to help someone get their smile back; she picked us, Cary Family Dental. She spoke with Deedie Carroll. The call couldn’t have gone any better! Deedie offered to speak to Dr. Acton and was eager to help make this all happen. As time went on and through attending Denise’s appointments, Denise and Anna have formed a great friendship and bond. Denise attended Anna’s birthday party and got to meet all the girls that donated to Denise’s smile fund. It truly was a beautiful process.
Our mission is to make all of our patients feel good about themselves and to help them reach that goal of giving them a great smile. The simple act of smiling has changed Denise’s life. She is more confident and outgoing. What a wonderful heart dear Anna has. She helped change a life and she did it by remembering a smile.
