Making Smiles and Saving Smiles
Hi, I’m Kristen Comello and I started this nonprofit organization to teach kids how to brush their teeth and give them tools for success.
What can I say? I love teeth and kids. As a dental hygienist, cleaning and caring for teeth has been my passion and I am determined to help as many kids as I can save their teeth. I am a very passionate person who really cares! I strive to help millions of kids across the United States be educated and understand why taking care of their teeth is so important.
Why is this cause important?
Children get their permanent molars at 6 years old. These are the most important teeth in the mouth. If you lose a molar, you have a hard time chewing on that side of the mouth. Our most simple pleasure in life is eating; just 2 dollars can buy us a meal. Losing one or more molars makes eating miserable and expensive.
Children are at a particular risk of getting tooth decalcification because they often consume a lot of sugary foods like soda, coffee, energy drinks, and sports drinks. All of these things can contribute to decalcification. These foods can ruin the enamel that protects the teeth. When plaque from sugary foods stick to teeth, it acts like rust on metal and strips the enamel away. If plaque is not taken care of, it eventually makes pits, which can turn brown and cause tooth decay. Teeth suffering from tooth decay require crowns, which is more and more common in young adults today. Teaching children good habits early will help prevent tooth decay when they get older.
How do we teach children good dental hygiene habits?
We first start off by reading a story about brushing teeth throughout the year and we educate them on the importance of their teeth. Our passion here at God’s Tooth Fairies is to teach kids proper toothbrushing techniques. We end the presentation by getting the kids in a big circle and we show them how to brush, how to hold a toothbrush properly and show them the motion. We challenge them to brush their teeth every morning and every night for thirty days. If they finish their 30-day challenge sheet, they get a prize and then they are challenged once again with a one-year challenge sheet. If they finish their one-year challenge, they receive an Oral B electric toothbrush.
It’s a fun day of making kids smile and saving their smiles.
Why do we run this non-profit?
From our experience of working in a dental office, we see too many problems that rise up when teeth are not taken care of. We really worry about the children that aren’t able to see a dentist regularly, and never learn how to care for their teeth properly. A little oral hygiene instruction can go a long way and we can help a lot of kids, with just a little bit of money.
My goal is to one day be able to send a toothbrush to every child in the US that needs one. If a child learns early why their parents push them to brush their teeth for 2 minutes and floss, it can be life-changing. If you are unable to afford a crown and or root canal, you will start losing your teeth. It will be awesome to save hundreds of kids from dentures because they learned good oral hygiene early in life.
