About Us

Our Mission

Our Vision
Our Story
We Are for World Wide Smiles
For World Wide Smiles (World Wide Smiles Inc.) was established to alleviate suffering from dental disease and facilitate disease prevention, education and practice. This was is in response to my personal experience in Nepal in 1990 where I witnessed that children were dying every day from infections due to abscessed teeth. Local people had no idea what caused this condition, how to prevent it and how to treat it. Even the hospitals didn’t have access to the necessary basic treatment equipment and instruments, nor the expertise to treat emergencies and prevent ongoing problems.
Our Acknowledgement
Our Team
Dr. Sherwin Shinn
President
Faria Shinn
Co-Founder and Director
Nannette Benedict
Dental Director
Jeff Bernhardt
Equipment Director
Hamisa Jim
Directors
Dr. Juan Herrera
Directors
Reggie Haight
Treasurer and Assistant

Our dedication
- Primarily to provide dental and maternal/infant health care, disease prevention education, and necessary supplies to undeserved populations.
- To train local people to take responsibility for disease prevention education and care.”
- “To establish self-sustaining, community enterprises that mutually benefit health and well-being.
- To share the virtues and values of other cultures with each other in order to further enrich all of our lives.
- To develop bridges of trust and understanding between us, and all peoples so that we become a planet of friendly neighbors instead of unknown strangers.
Our Achievements
Dr. Sherwin Shinn and Faria Shinn
For the last 23 years, Dr Shinn has dedicated his life to providing oral healthcare to underserved people in some of the worlds most impoverished countries.
Nepal…Where It Began: He realized his life’s mission during a trip in 1990 to the Himalayas in Nepal. There, he met 5-year-old Soman Sherpa on a rural trail who was swollen from temple to armpit with a life-threatening systemic infection caused by abscessed teeth. He saved the girl’s life by performing rudimentary extraction. Children there were dying from infected teeth simply because they had no access to a toothbrush or knowledge of how to use one. He vowed to return with toothbrushes, education and more tools. He not only returned to Nepal 18 months later, but has since traveled to many other countries.
“It’s not what we want to be & feel, & not what we do, that drives our passion to go forward with life. Stay in touch with those feelings & follow your dreams” … That grand realization is what made him the 2013 ADA Humanitarian Award recipient. Dr. Shinn has received many accolades for his work, including the WA State Dental Association 2003 Citizen of the Year & 2003 National Jefferson Award, the nation’s highest honor for public service.
In 2003, Dr. Shinn partnered “1000 Smiles Project” with Great Shape! Inc. “1000 Smiles Project” is the world’s largest collaborative international humanitarian dental project that provides Jamaicans with dental care & education in temporary clinics & schools. Dr. Shinn is the co-founder of International Smile Power, & the co-founder & current president of For World Wide Smiles, a non-profit organization that coordinates volunteer teams to provide dental care, teach oral hygiene, offer training & supplies to local providers and improve maternal & infant health by upgrading conditions in rural labor & delivery rooms with the creation of Mothers Abroad program. For World Wide Smiles averages 3 international trips a year to Haiti, Uganda & Jamaica.
In 2007, he moved to Uganda to develop & grow For World Wide Smiles. During this time, he met Faria; a Ugandan woman with the love & compassion for people that matched his own. The couple married & moved back to Washington & now resides in Gig Harbor. Dr. Shinn has 7 children & 4 grandchildren.
Dr. Shinn is the author of “Confessions of a Modern Dentist.” He also gives inspiring lectures on How to Make Your Dreams Come True, Raising Self-Esteem & Empowering Yourself & Others, and Maximizing the Fulfillment Factor in Dentistry & Life Through Volunteerism. His lectures are uplifting & motivational! With his 40 years of professional experience & remarkable credentials, he is certainly qualified to answer a wide range of questions about dentistry, volunteerism and international travel & culture.
Sandra Harms; a 2013 Uganda Volunteer with For World Wide Smiles said this about Dr. Shinn “He is the most thoughtful, caring, passionate, intelligent, inspiring, fun & relational leader I have ever worked with. He values people & empowers them to be their best self, to ‘be awesome’ & be part of a team with a vision.”
Namaste… While in Nepal, Dr. Shinn learned a valuable lesson about a culture’s sacred greeting, “Namaste” & how it not only affected his outlook on life, but also of how he would acknowledge people’s inherent spirituality when greeting friends & strangers. Namaste means “I bow to the divine in you,” or “The Spirit within me salutes the Spirit in you.” It is spoken with an accompanying bow with hands pressed together close to the chest & is done with absolute sincerity and respect. It’s a guiding ideal that Dr. Shinn & his family has put forth within their daily life. May we all recognize the divinity within ourselves & extend a warm welcome to each other. Namaste