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President/CEO Steve Bilt joins a team of employees and dentists on a mission trip to Chiang Rai, Thailand through the company’s non-profit foundation
Irvine, Calif., [May 17, 2012] — Smile Brands Inc. is bringing its philosophy of “Smiles for Everyone®!” to the people of Thailand this month. Following a successful trip last year to Asunción, Paraguay through the “Smiles for Everyone®!” Foundation in December 2011, a team of employees and dentists is continuing its philanthropic efforts by bringing dental services to an impoverished community in Chiang Rai, Thailand from May 17-26.
“Our trip to Paraguay was unbelievably enlightening,” says Smile Brands President and CEO, Steve Bilt. “We saw people so badly in need of dental care that without it, some may have died. We didn’t necessarily expect such extreme conditions, but after seeing them we are more energized than ever to continue our mission to bring dental care to as many communities around the world as we can.” See more of what Steve has to say about the upcoming mission here:
https://34.227.229.150/about-us/mission-and-values/outreach.
In addition to providing care, the team also works hard to ensure the community can carry on a certain level of care on their own. The team leaves behind better equipment and exposes local dentists to great training so that they can continue to provide superior care to the local community once the Smile Brands team has returned home.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to take our skills and knowledge to another group of people less fortunate than ourselves,” says Bilt. “We feel as part of our individual and corporate responsibilities, it is important to extend our mission beyond the walls of our dental offices. By traveling to Thailand and visiting local communities with little or no access to proper dental care, we can greatly extend our vision of bringing smiles to everyone.”
The “Smiles for Everyone®!” Foundation, affiliated with Smile Brands Inc., is a not-for-profit foundation with a vision to improve the lives of people through the provision of essential services including dentistry and nutrition, as well as provide additional forms of aid in extraordinary circumstances. The American Red Cross has twice recognized the “Smiles for Everyone®!” Foundation for its far-reaching humanitarian efforts, bestowing upon the Foundation the prestigious Circle of Humanitarians award.
In addition to running temporary dental clinics and nutrition centers the Thailand team will participate in training and group coaching sessions to gain insight and create a model which can be replicated in more communities throughout the world. Bilt is serving as a dental assistant on the trip, joining dentists Dr. Mazin Alayssami, Dr. Robert Chidester, Dr. Stanley Hong, Dr. Karen Martinez, Dr. Craig Mellor, and Dr. Randy Richardson. Additionally, Smile Brands employees Kimberly Chiu, Bill McCarthy, Jaqui Melroe, Debbie Potts, and Stacy Slater are participating.
A film crew from Video Resources Inc. is volunteering their time and resources to travel with the team to capture video and still footage documenting the experience that can be used as educational material for future foundation trips. Jim MacPartland from the JMAC Performance Group is also volunteering his time and resources to lead the group in the leadership development aspects of the trip.
About Smile Brands Inc.
Smile Brands Inc. is the largest provider of support services to dental groups in the United States. 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 the dental practice. Smile Brands Inc. services support more than 1,100 dentists and hygienists practicing in over 350 Bright Now! Dental, Monarch Dental, and Castle Dental offices in 18 states.
Over 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 4,200 people nationwide. For more information, visit www.smilebrands.com.
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