SMILE HOUSE TARANTO

The bond between Smile House Fondazione ETS and the Italian Navy began in 2010, during the emergency response to the Haiti earthquake. On that occasion, the Foundation was invited to carry out surgical activity aboard the aircraft carrier Cavour, moored off the city of Port-au-Prince, to help the affected population. That collaboration gave rise to the Taranto project, formalised with an agreement in 2022 and further strengthened in June 2023.

Clinical and Scientific Coordinator: Dr Luciano Matarrese

The Taranto centre has the important task of providing care that complements surgical treatment and countering health-related migration linked to long-term therapies, such as conservative, orthodontic, speech-language and psychological treatments. The main activity consists of offering pre- and post-surgery consultations, particularly from an orthodontic, speech-language, psychological and surgical perspective, ensuring that every child and every adult born with a facial malformation is carefully monitored throughout their entire care pathway.

The Centre provides all the services that complement surgical activity and require frequent, regular appointments. The services offered include:

• Specialist orthodontic consultations;
  
• Pathways of speech therapy to support language development;
  
• Psychological support for patients and their families;
  
• Pre- and post-operative assessments and check-ups.