Teaching young children proper dental hygiene doesn’t have to be as painful as pulling teeth. In fact, it can be downright fun.

Taylor Neu got her chance on March 25 to join the fun when she dressed up as the tooth fairy and entertained preschoolers at DVC’s Children’s Center. The event also featured other students from the dental assistant program dressed as animals from the movie, “Madagascar,” in a skit on taking care of your teeth.

The children laughed in delight as the costumed dental students sang, “You’ve got to brush them, brush them.” Afterwards, they had their pictures taken with the tooth fairy.

“This is run entirely by the students,” Neu said as a trio of bright-eyed girls eagerly waited their turns to greet her. “We get to choose the theme and what songs to sing.”
 

Last semester’s theme was “Dora the Explorer.”

“I liked the picture with the tooth fairy,” said Sophia, 5, of her 15 seconds of fame with Neu.

On the other hand, Ebenezer, 5, preferred the dinosaurs in the short cartoon featuring Dudley the Dinosaur, who sang and danced while teaching what it is like to visit the dentist.

With the lesson over, the children quickly dispersed to resume the most important part of the day: playtime.

Contact David Matteri at [email protected]