The BYF Family is proud to have our “Get a Smile, Give a Smile” Movement and offer dental restorations to organizations like Fresh Start which help amazing people like Teresa. Please visit www.freshstart.org to see how you can help and read more about people like Teresa.
Teresa’s Story
Teresa Before Fresh Start
Teresa with Fresh Start’s Patient Services Manager at the November 2012 Surgery Weekend
Teresa was born in Tijuana, Mexico with cleft lip and palate and her family’s low-income left her with limited options for high-quality care for her condition. Teresa has now been a Fresh Start patient for over 15 years and has regained her health, confidence, and self-esteem. True to Fresh Start’s comprehensive and long-term approach to care, Teresa has received reconstructive surgeries, scar revision, and dental care to treat her deformity.
Overall, Teresa has received over 7 reconstructive surgeries, has attended over 50 dental clinics and 30 speech therapy clinics, and has received over $200,000 in donated medical care from Fresh Start’s volunteer medical professionals. Teresa has received nasal reconstruction, reconstruction and realignment of her palate and jaw, and many other surgeries and treatments. Now 19, Teresa only has a few more appointments and exams left until she reaches the end of her Fresh Start journey.