Straighten up and smile confidently

WARWICK SMITH/Manawatu Standard

WINNING SMILE: Karli Archibald-Richmond is one of about a dozen young people to receive braces through the Smiling Straight Dental Trust.

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Awatapu College musicians and friends will be playing next week to bring a confident smile to the face of a teenager with crooked teeth.

The Smiling Straight Concert is raising money for a trust that has raised $40,000 in the past two years to help 13 young people get braces.

Founding trustees Marc Paterson and Jeannette Daysh said finding sponsorship was a continuing battle, with many people thinking straight teeth were a cosmetic luxury.

Mr Paterson, a teacher at Awatapu College, could not disagree more.

He called crooked teeth "the enduring badge of poverty", the legacy of growing up in a family unable to afford the $5000-plus for orthodontic care.

They undermined confidence at a time when the last thing teenagers needed was a point of physical difference that made them self-conscious.

"It is always heart-breaking to turn anybody down," Mr Paterson said.

"It is hard for a family to apply, and to get turned down is awful."

The stumbling block is always lack of money, not lack of need or motivation to endure the treatment.

The scheme, subsidised by the Orthodontic Centre, is no free ride. Each family negotiates a cost-sharing arrangement, and agrees to find between one-sixth and two-thirds of the costs during the 18 months or more of treatment, depending on how much they can afford.

The students themselves are required to undertake at least 20 hours' voluntary work. They do not necessarily help their sponsors, but they pass on the goodwill to someone else.

The scheme is open to teenagers and their families from Palmerston North and Feilding.

Teacher Erna Ferry has organised the charity concert to support the trust, and aims to raise enough money for one child's orthodontic work.

She has included teachers at the school who are playing in bands.

The concert is at the Awatapu College auditorium on Wednesday, November 16 at 7.30pm. Our People P4

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