Heber hosts Craniofacial Family Retreat with ‘Stranger Things’ star Gaten Matarazzo

Gaten Matarazzo was the featured guest at the annual Cleft & Craniofacial Family Retreat in Heber on Sept. 14. Photo: Utah Smiles Foundation

HEBER, Utah — Two Utah-based organizations partnered to host the Cleft and Craniofacial Family Retreat on Saturday, Sept. 14, in Heber, Utah, bringing together families affected by craniofacial conditions. The event featured actor and co-founder of CCD Smiles Gaten Matarazzo, known for his role in “Stranger Things.”

“One in every 500 children in Utah is born with a cleft lip or palate. Treatment for a child born with a cleft lip/palate starts at birth and continues into young adulthood. Many of those children live in Summit and Wasatch county,” Angie Lines, Foundation Director for Utah Smiles Foundation shared.

The retreat was organized by the Provo-based Utah Smiles Foundation and Orem-based nonprofit CCD Smiles. It aimed to provide children with craniofacial conditions and their families a day to focus on fun and community.

“In April of this year Dr. Griner and I met Dr. Kelly Wosnik of CCD Smiles and Gaten at the American Cleft Palate Association meeting in Denver. We were grateful to collaborate with them and bring them on board for this event that we put on every year to welcome more craniofacial families to this day of support, understanding, and connection. We appreciate Gaten making it a priority in his busy schedule to attend the retreat. My favorite part of the day was watching him talk with, and relate with other children whose craniofacial journey mirrors his own,” Lines stated.

Utah Smiles Foundation supports a range of craniofacial conditions, while CCD Smiles focuses on cleidocranial dysplasia (CCD), a genetic disorder that affects the development of bones and teeth. Both Matarazzo and Dr. Kelly Wosnik, co-founder of CCD Smiles, have the condition.

“The Utah Smiles Foundation puts this event on free of charge every year to allow cleft and craniofacial families to come together for a day of fun and have an opportunity to meet other kids and families that are on a journey similar to their own. The idea for the retreat was born from the belief of our craniofacial plastic surgeon, and Utah Smiles founder Dr. Devan Griner who believes that it does little good to fix a child’s face if their soul is broken in the process. Our mission at the Utah Smiles is to support children born with cleft lip/palates and other facial abnormalities on their emotional, physical, and reconstructive journey. The Annual Cleft & Craniofacial Family retreat was created to fulfill the emotional part of our mission,” Lines shared.