At Pacific Dental Services® employees receive eight (8) hours of paid volunteer time each year to support a cause or organization where they have a passion to serve. In 2017, PDS® team members volunteered 58,667 hours of their time and donated over $9 million in dentistry to patients in need.

At the local level, across our three support centers, 18 regions and 630+ supported offices, the Pacific Dental Services family serves through volunteer initiatives with partners such as the Special Olympics, the American Heart Association and Make-a-Wish.

• In March, PDS launched a partnership with WHW, formerly Women Helping Women, at the National Support Center in Irvine, and team members have collected several thousand pounds of lightly worn clothing to be donated, resold, or repurposed.
• Over 30 PDS-supported offices in Northern California partnered with the California Highway Patrol to collect over 800 teddy bears. These stuffed animals will be provided to officers to give to children who are experiencing traumatic situations.

Regionally, PDS team members partner with organizations such as KaBOOM!, “the national non-profit dedicated to bringing balanced and active play into the daily lives of all kids.” Regional teams give their time and resources to build playgrounds in underserved communities across the U.S. Additionally, in partnership with the Pacific Dental Services® Foundation, PDS-supported clinicians and team members provide donated dental services to patients in need through mobile dental clinics.

• To date, PDS team members have built 14 playgrounds with KaBOOM! in communities in California, Texas, and Arizona.
• PDS-supported clinicians and team members in Arizona have volunteered over 600 hours of their time to the PDS Foundation’s mobile dental clinic this year alone. Clinics have partnered with Phoenix Stand Down, House of Refuge, Changing Lives Center and Old Town Mission to provide nearly $110,000 of donated dentistry to 100 patients.
• Over 100 PDS-supported clinicians from coast-to-coast have signed up to be volunteer dentists with Dental Lifeline Network.
• During the month of March, 62 PDS-supported offices in Texas and Louisiana raised over $28,000 for Special Olympics of Texas and Louisiana.

Internationally, volunteer PDS team members travel annually to Guatemala, Fiji and Ethiopia to bring much-needed dental services to remote parts of the world, and PDS partners with charity: water to bring clean, safe drinking water to people in Ethiopia.

• Since 2016, Pacific Dental Services has partnered with the Pacific Dental Services Foundation’s Dental Clinic in Xencoj, Guatemala. Already in 2018, 18 PDS team members have provided nearly $155,000 of donated dentistry to a total of 244 patients. A team will visit the clinic again in July 2018, as well as travel to Fiji and Ethiopia to provide donated dentistry.
• To date, PDS team members have helped bring clean drinking water to 137,000 people in Ethiopia.

IndiaWest –

Indian American dentist Smita Borole, founder of Smiles For Hope in Knoxville, Tennessee, provided free dental services last year to a school bus driver who had been in an accident with an oncoming school bus.

The woman lost both of her legs in the horrific incident, and all of her teeth. “She could not work and was living on the streets,” Borole told India-West. “She wanted a desk job,” said the dentist, explaining that people with bad or missing teeth are usually discriminated against in employment.

Read more here.

With a population of 14.7 million, more than half of all the residents in Guatemala live in poverty. But from the smoldering volcano to the bright colors to the souped-up chicken busses, the country is alive and filled with personality, and the inner beauty of the Guatemalan people make it a very special place.

From January 23-28, 14 members of the Smile Generation® family served at the Pacific Dental Services® Foundation’s clinic outside of Antigua, Guatemala. The team had the privilege to serve 119 patients and provide nearly $70,000 in donated dentistry. “This is the first time I have traveled on one of these international trips with the PDS® Foundation, and I was blown away by the joy of the patients I had the privilege to serve,” said owner doctor, Ashley Hopkins, from Austin, TX. “I absolutely fell in love with the people of Guatemala. I also had a great time getting to know other dentists and team members from different regions. We’ll be friends forever!”

Realizing the tremendous need for oral healthcare in Guatemala, the PDS Foundation established a clinic in Xenacoj, Guatemala in January of 2015. Dental diseases continue to be a serious problem for Guatemalans with poverty, poor education and malnutritio n being the major factors. The clinic sits in a rural yet accessible region located just off the Pan American Highway. Through a partnership with Hope Haven International, the PDS Foundation Clinic provides comprehensive care to many individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities. In addition, the clinic supports Special Olympics athletes and their families.

To ensure the Clinic’s long term sustainability, the Foundation established a residency program with the University of San Carlos to ensure oral health services are provided year round. The program has already graduated five students and three more students are currently in their ten-month rotation.

In addition to Guatemala, the Pacific Dental Services Foundation provides oral healthcare to underserved populations in Ethiopia and Fiji. Since the Foundation’s first service trip in 2010, over 100 clinicians have volunteered, providing care for over 13,000 patients.

Thank you to all the PDS team members who give their time and talent to serve others.

Sentinel-Standard –

My Community Dental Centers have launched a month-long sweepstakes offering children aged 10 and under a chance to win a bicycle and helmet in honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month.

Read more here.

Digital Journal –

Dallas Business Journal recognizes Dr. Sulman Ahmed, Founder & CEO of DECA Dental Group, as one of the selected 2018 Minority Business Leader honorees. After having judges review more than 100 nominations, Tracy Merzi, publisher of DBJ, notes that the 2018 class of honorees “represent the best of the best in North Texas.”

Read more here.