Upcoming Clinics
February 6th-7th, 2026
May 1st-2nd, 2026
August 7th-8th, 2026
November 6th-7th, 2026
Upcoming Events
Additional Clinics
December 12th-13th – Special Needs Clinic
(invitation only)
November 2025 Clinic Recap and Gratitude
A Record-Breaking November Clinic Changes Lives
Our November clinic was truly spectacular! From sunrise to sunset, the Thousand Smiles team worked with incredible dedication, completing an impressive number of dental cases and surgeries. We are thrilled that seven children received surgical procedures for their cleft palate and lip impairments, and five received surgery to restore hearing… in a record amount of time!
This efficiency and quality of care were made possible by an outstanding multidisciplinary team that brought energy, precision, and compassion to every patient encounter. The impact of their work cannot be overstated—these surgeries and associated treatments have transformed the lives of young children who otherwise would not have had access to such care.
We were deeply honored to host Dr. Wayne Ozaki, MD, DDS, as part of the UCLA surgical team. Dr. Ozaki serves as Chief of Pediatric Plastic and Craniofacial Surgery at UCLA, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Olive View–UCLA Medical Center, and Chief of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at UCLA School of Dentistry. His leadership and expertise brought tremendous value to the clinic.
We couldn’t do it without all of our long-time supporters like Dr. Nick Veaco, one of our outstanding surgeons, who’s been with us for 30 years. Dr. Earl Freymiller, the former UCLA chairman, also continues to come and has a multi-decade history with Thousand Smiles.
Thank you to the Old Mission Rotary for providing lunches for the volunteers and to Route 78 Rotary for feeding out patients and families. We are also appreciative of Jimbos for sharing apples for our kids!
On Friday evening, about twenty of our team members gathered for a lively dinner at Becky’s award-winning brewery and restaurant, Cerveza Cardera—a well-deserved celebration of teamwork and purpose.
As we look ahead, planning is already underway for our December 12- 13th Special Needs Clinic, an essential extension of our mission that enables us to provide focused care for very young or complex patients who cannot be treated during regular clinic sessions. Without these clinics, many of these children would simply go without care.
We are endlessly grateful to our surgeons, nurses, students, and volunteers for their expertise, compassion, and unwavering commitment. Together, we continue to create countless smiles.
Special Thanks to all our Novemember Volunteers
Every Thousand Smiles clinic is powered by volunteers whose generosity, skill, and dedication make life-changing care possible, and the November clinic was no exception.
From nursing teams to translators, audiologists to students, our volunteers showed up early, stayed late, and worked tirelessly to ensure every child received exceptional care.
Our core nursing staff—Mary, Rebecca, and Gabriela—recruited an incredible team of nurses and students who delivered seamless, compassionate care throughout the weekend. A special thanks goes to Esther and the many others who helped make the clinic run so efficiently.
We were also joined by Global Health students from UCSD and other universities—Rachel, Alex, Andy, Philip, Rashika, and Chloe—who took on vital roles in translation, registration, sterilization, and ongoing research projects. Their enthusiasm and professionalism made a huge difference.
Kate Moyer, our expert pediatric audiologist, invited one of her graduate students, Kevin to join her in performing hearing evaluations and developing treatment plans for patients—work that will have lasting benefits. Our local speech therapist devoted both Friday and Saturday to patient evaluations and has arranged virtual follow-ups via WhatsApp to maintain continuity of care.
Marc Lebovits, MD who has provided hearing surgery for over 30 years recruited his wife Shana Saichek to our clinic. Shana worked with Alex, as translator to speak to our families. They shared very personal stories about their children’s hearing loss, cleft palate, and other challenges. As part of their journeys, they found their way to our team at TSF, and we are now lucky enough to share them with you in our upcoming Success Stories. Stay tuned for more!
And it was wonderful to welcome back one of our longtime volunteers, a former medical student, Daniel who, after completing his training, now practices orthopedic surgery in Ensenada. He joined forces with Monica, one of our most indispensable volunteers, who does everything from translation and advocacy to keeping the team organized and on track.
Their dedication—and that of every volunteer—embodies the spirit of Thousand Smiles: compassionate, collaborative, and committed to giving children the best chance at a healthy, confident smile.
We can’t thank our volunteers enough for the heart and humanity they bring to every clinic. You are the reason our mission continues to thrive.
Your Support Makes a Difference
We have surpassed our one thousand smiles mark and performed over 2,000 cleft palate surgeries and an additional 20,000 dental visits. And we couldn’t have done it without you.