Georgia School of Orthodontics GSO) awarded two Atlanta students with free braces and complimentary orthodontic care through its Gift of a Smile program. Mikaylah Copeland, 15, an honor student at Ronald E. McNair High School in Atlanta, and Hunter Cain, a sixth grader at Bear Creek Middle School in Statham were among the nominations of children that GSO received from the community to be gifted complimentary braces.

The recipients are Mikaylah Copeland, 15, an honor student at Ronald E. McNair High School in Atlanta, and Hunter Cain, a sixth-grader at Bear Creek Middle School in Statham. Check out their smile stories below:

• Mikaylah, a happy spirited teenager enjoys cheerleading and looks forward to trying majorette dance. Her mom and biggest cheerleader submitted the nomination of how a healthy, straight smile will build her self-confidence to face anything. GSO can't wait to make that wish come true as Mikaylah plans to be a cosmetologist upon graduation from high school and has future aspirations to work in the medical field as an OBGYN.

• Hunter is very self-conscious about his teeth and always hides his smile. A musician who plays the trumpet, he also enjoys going to church, reading, playing video games and keeping up with his big brother. His mom, a mother of four, submitted his deserving story after several trips to the dentist only to be told orthodontic treatment was not medically necessary. Thanks to the Gift of a Smile, Hunter will soon have a reason to smile.

GSO established the Gift of a Smile program in 2016 to celebrate the opening of the School and Atlanta clinic. GSO also has the Gift of a Smile Heroes program, which provides free orthodontic treatment to adults, GSO's everyday heroes; and Purple Heart Smiles, which provides children of Purple Heart recipients with free braces. The three programs combined have provided more than $250,000 in complimentary orthodontic care to over 70 deserving children, adults and veterans in metro Atlanta.