The Miss World South Africa brand, in collaboration with Cahi Dental & Prosthodontic Practice, hosted this year's finalists and children from the Nashua Children's Foundation, giving them a dental experience of a lifetime and further enhancing their confidence.
In keeping with the Miss World "Beauty with a Purpose" tagline, the finalists work pro bono with renowned dentist Dr Norman Cahi to treat children's oral health, as they receive their first dental appointment in a safe and comforting environment in an effort raise awareness of the challenges these vulnerable children face.
Miss World SA empowers women to embody beauty with a purpose by providing care for children in orphanages and care centres promoting global positive change.
On this special day, “Saturday Star” spoke with the esteemed dentist Cahi, who believes that a beautiful, bright, and white smile radiates vitality and confidence.
With the motto “Creating smiles, changing lives”, the practice asserts that one smile at a time, they can gradually make the world a better place.
“Our mantra is creating smiles and changing lives, and we have always believed that we can improve the world just a little bit, one smile at a time. You know when a child suffers from a fractured smile, they suffer low self-esteem, and it impacts their mental and emotional health, their physical health, and they get teased at school.
“And these are very vulnerable children and are not average, coming from an affluent home. So we have chosen to give back to the community, and we have chosen people that are the most vulnerable, which are orphaned children.
“Now Miss World pageant, their mantra is beauty with a purpose; this is why it is such a synergistic relationship, so they contacted me a few years ago and asked if we would join them in their beauty with a purpose. What we do is that once a year we bring the top girls into the top finalists, and we bring all the children from different homes, and we combine the two. The girls act as carers for them, so they get love, they get affection and attention, and then they leave with a positive mind and experience.
“So the dental experience becomes a positive one for them right from the beginning. And this sets them up the kids for a lifetime of stress-free dental visits because you know many adults are fearful of coming to the dentists,” said Cahi.
Cahi extended his gratitude to some of their sponsors, including Clamber Club, Tashas The Marc, and Mastro Deli, who played an integral part in making the day one to remember.
At the practice in Parktown, Cahi works with his brother Emile, a prosthodontist, and his daughter Chelsea.
Saturday Star