  Using the SDSS DR7 spectroscopic catalog, we searched the WISE AllWISE
catalog to investigate the occurrence of warm dust, as inferred from IR
excesses, around field M dwarfs (dMs). We developed SDSS/WISE color selection
criteria to identify 175 dMs (from 70,841) that show IR flux greater than
typical dM photosphere levels at 12 and/or 22 $\mu$m, including seven new stars
within the Orion OB1 footprint. We characterize the dust populations inferred
from each IR excess, and investigate the possibility that these excesses could
arise from ultracool binary companions by modeling combined SEDs. Our observed
IR fluxes are greater than levels expected from ultracool companions
($>3\sigma$). We also estimate that the probability the observed IR excesses
are due to chance alignments with extragalactic sources is $<$ 0.1%. Using SDSS
spectra we measure surface gravity dependent features (K, Na, and CaH 3), and
find $<$ 15% of our sample indicate low surface gravities. Examining tracers of
youth (H$\alpha$, UV fluxes, and Li absorption), we find $<$ 3% of our sample
appear young, indicating we are observing a population of field stars $\gtrsim$
1 Gyr, likely harboring circumstellar material. We investigate age-dependent
properties probed by this sample, studying the disk fraction as a function of
Galactic height. The fraction remains small and constant to $|Z| \sim 700$ pc,
and then drops, indicating little to no trend with age. Possible explanations
for disks around field dMs include: 1) collisions of planetary bodies, 2) tidal
disruption of planetary bodies, or 3) failed planet formation.
