There is only one dentist for every 20,000 people in Nicaragua - Steven C. Bilt, Chairman & CEO, Smiles for Everyone Foundation
Irvine, CA (PRWEB) July 01, 2013
The Smiles for Everyone Foundation (“SFE Foundation”), a non-profit public charity affiliated with Smile Brands Inc. (“Smile Brands”), next week kicks off its fourth international philanthropic dental outreach trip, this time bringing much needed dental care, knowledge and supplies to the people of Nicaragua. SFE Foundation also sponsored a third such trip to Ghana in November 2012, after the initial two International Smile Project trips coordinated by Smile Brands - one to Paraguay in December 2011 and another to Thailand in May 2012.
On this trip to Nicaragua, a team of volunteers, including Smile Brands employees and dentists from Smile Brands’ affiliated Bright Now!® Dental and Monarch Dental® offices, will provide dental services in both Managua, Nicaragua’s capital, and in the more remote Matagalpa and La Dalia regions, where access to dental care is extremely limited and considered a luxury by most.
“When we learned that there is only one dentist for every 20,000 people in Nicaragua and that only 10 percent of the population has access to health care at all, we knew that our visit would have a significant impact on the welfare of Nicaraguans,” said SFE Foundation Chairman & CEO Steven C. Bilt. “We pride ourselves on bringing Smiles for Everyone® to our work every day while at home and our team is very excited about being able to do so abroad once again, where care is so badly needed.”
Sixteen volunteers will join Steve on this trip, including dentists Dr. Benjamin Dorantes, Dr. Henry Green, Jr., Dr. Sandra Horner, Dr. Kevin Lee, Dr. Griselda Romero and Dr. Shorouq Sahawneh. Smile Brands CFO David Young, and Directors of Market Operations April Cole and Ivania Navas, and SFE Foundation Support Manager Heather Kent will also participate in this important dental outreach event, which is again being coordinated by Norm Schulz of the NEUE Group and includes the executive development support of Jim McPartland, author of the book Unopened Gifts.
In addition to providing dental care, the volunteers will provide training and equipment necessary to allow local dentists to continue to care for their communities after the team returns home.
The team will partner with a local organization on the trip, Acción Médica Cristiana (“AMC”), to make sure the needs of the local communities are met. AMC has been a leading non-governmental organization (NGO) in Nicaragua for more than 28 years and works to empower people in community health issues such as HIV/AIDS, clean water and sanitation, essential medicines, traditional health, dental health and health models, food security, knowledge management, disaster risk education and response. Dr. Teresa Castillo Obadilla, AMC’s Executive Director, and her team will help arrange the visits for dental care in both Managua and Matagalpa.
To get a true sense of what the Nicaragua trip will be all about, watch this video of Steve Bilt talking about his expectations and goals for the trip, as well as his past experiences with the volunteer teams in Paraguay, Thailand and Ghana.
Updates on the Nicaragua trip – and details of past international dental outreach trips – can be found on the SFE Foundation’s website, http://www.smilesforeveryone.org, and on its Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/smilesforeveryonefoundation.
About Smile Brands Inc.
Smile Brands Inc. is one of the largest providers of support services to dental groups in the United States based on the number of dental offices. Smile Brands Inc. provides comprehensive business support services so dentists can spend more time caring for their patients and less time on the administrative, marketing and financial aspects of operating a dental practice. Smile Brands Inc. services support more than 1,300 dentists and hygienists practicing in 370 Bright Now!® Dental®, Monarch Dental®, and Castle Dental® offices in 18 states.
Nearly three quarters of a million people a year take advantage of extended evening and weekend office hours, convenient locations, affordable prices, and flexible payment plans for quality, full-service dental care including general and cosmetic dentistry, and specialty services such as orthodontics at affiliated Smile Brands’ offices.
Based in Irvine, Calif., Smile Brands Inc. and its affiliated dental offices combined employ approximately 4,600 people nationwide. For more information, visit http://www.smilebrands.com.
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