March of Dimes has received a generous donation of $71,146 from The Smile Generation® after a month-long campaign of giving held at Smile Generation-trusted dental practices throughout Nevada and the Inland Empire in Southern California. Approximately 70 trusted-dental offices participated in the September 2019 campaign that asked patients to donate to support March of Dimes. A total of 1,298 separate donations were made to help advance the March of Dimes' mission.
“We are honored to have been selected as The Smile Generation’s charity of choice for September and thankful for this generous gift that will help fund March of Dimes research, programs, education, and advocacy efforts. We were truly inspired by the passion of staff and their patients at the dental offices,” said Pamela Carlston, Executive Director of March of Dimes Nevada.
The two offices that raised the most for March of Dimes in Nevada were Durango Dental Group ($7,610) and Henderson Dental Group and Orthodontics ($7,400) and in the Inland Empire, Temecula Modern Dentistry raised $4,005 and Temecula Dental Practice and Orthodontics raised $2,698.
Maha Said-Shariff, Regional Partner of The Smile Generation, South Inland Empire and Nevada Region, said, “We are happy to partner with March of Dimes. The Smile Generation believes in a culture of service, which motivates us to join in with numerous local volunteer organizations in communities across the country and around the world. Supporting March of Dimes allows us to give back to the communities where we live and work.”
March of Dimes gives 4 million babies born each year the best possible start. Nearly half a million of them are born prematurely or with birth defects. Premature birth and its complications are the largest contributors to infant death in the U.S. and pregnancy-related death has more than doubled over the past 25 years.
March of Dimes recently issued the 2019 March of Dimes Report Card that for the first time reveals the nation’s current state of maternal and infant health. This new Report Card provides a more comprehensive view of the health of moms and babies, as their health is deeply intertwined.
The Report Card shows that for the fourth year in a row, more babies in the U.S. (approximately one in 10) were born too soon. With the rate of preterm birth increasing from 9.63 percent in 2015 to 10.02 percent in 2018, the nation once again earned a “C” grade. Beside the increasing rates of preterm birth, each year, more than 22,000 babies die in the U.S. before their first birthday—that is two babies every hour. The rates of maternal death and severe pregnancy complications also are unacceptably high. The U.S. is among the most dangerous developed nations in which to give birth.