For Dr. Devan Griner, the path to medicine—specifically pediatric surgery—became clear while he was still in high school.
The son of a television news photographer, Griner grew up thinking he might follow his father’s footsteps behind the camera. But everything changed after he watched an award-winning documentary his father had shot about children receiving cleft lip and palate surgeries overseas.
“I remember watching children being screened for surgery and seeing some of them sent home because there weren’t enough resources,” Griner recalls. “It broke my heart. After that, I wasn’t the same.”
The experience inspired him to start a fundraising club while still in high school and eventually join a medical mission to Vietnam. By the time he returned home, he knew exactly what he wanted to do with his life.
Today, that passion is reflected in Utah Smiles, the nonprofit foundation Griner created to help children born with cleft lip, cleft palate, and other craniofacial conditions receive the specialized care they need. Children with these conditions often require multiple surgeries and years of treatment involving numerous specialists. Yet insurance limitations, financial challenges, and gaps in access to care can leave families struggling to obtain timely treatment.
“We wanted to create a system where every child could receive the care they need regardless of insurance status or financial circumstances,” says Griner, who returned to Utah in 2016 after earning his medical degree and dual board certifications, as well as pursuing specialized training in pediatric plastic and craniofacial surgery. He started his own practice, Peak Plastic Surgery, because “it’s hard to support a family with a nonprofit,” he observes. “So my private practice pays the bills and Utah Smiles fulfills my passion to change lives.”
Founded seven years ago, Utah Smiles brings together an expert team of surgeons, dentists and orthodontists, audiologists, psychologists, ENT specialists, speech pathologists and others who collaborate on individualized treatment plans. One of the unique aspects of Utah Smiles is the foundation’s approach of all caregivers meeting together once a month with each patient and their family.
“Rather than requiring families to coordinate appointments across multiple offices, the team works together to streamline care,” explains Griner. “Families shouldn’t have to spend months trying to coordinate appointments between specialists. We bring everyone together so parents can leave one visit with a clear plan and the support they need.”
The foundation has helped more than 500 patients and continues to support hundreds of children at various stages of treatment. The work extends beyond surgery. Utah Smiles provides emotional support, including hosting an annual cleft retreat where children and their families gather for recreation, community, and encouragement.
“We always say it does no good to fix a child’s face if we break their soul in the process,” Griner says. That philosophy was reinforced by one patient whose treatment journey left a lasting impression on Griner.
“One young man told me that after treatment, he finally felt like he fit into the world,” he recalls. “We take for granted how important it is to communicate, to feel accepted, to belong. Helping a child gain that confidence is one of the most rewarding parts of what we do.”
Looking ahead, Griner continues to have a clear goal in mind. “My dream is to build a true center of excellence where we can help more children, train surgeons from around the world, and share a model of care that improves outcomes everywhere,” he explains. For Griner, the mission that began with a documentary decades ago continues today through every child helped, every family supported, and every life transformed.