Dallas Dental Hygienists' Society began a search to find the
Tooth Fairy soon after hearing rumors from a cluster of kindergarten and past
kindergarten students who attend Northwood Hills Elementary in Dallas. These
children claimed not only to have seen the Tooth Fairy, but also to have been
visited in their homes by the Tooth Fairy. Maggie, a past kindergarten student
said, "Oh yes, the Tooth Fairy came to my home. My parents called her on her
beeper and she came right away…and it was Christmas Day!" Statement after
statement from these children lead straight to Ms. Kim Dumaine, kindergarten
teacher at Northwood Hills Elementary in RISD.
Dallas Dental
Hygienists' Society members visited Ms. Dumaine's classroom February 21, 2003
and provided the children with a fun filled day of dental health education,
toothbrushes and a questionnaire to identify children at risk for cavities. The
questionnaire was called, "What's Your Prevention Power?" and helps children to
know what they can do to prevent cavities. DDHS Past President, Paula Harris
presented Ms. Dumaine with a "Heroes of Service in Oral Health" award. Dallas
Dental Hygienists' Society discovered an outstanding teacher and classroom to
honor in the month of February, Children's Dental Health Month. Our society
thanks the children for sharing their "secret" with us. We are proud and
honored to present Ms. Dumaine with an award for oral health and for making a
difference in these children's lives.
In addition to Ms. Dumaine's
kindergarten class, DDHS members visited kindergarten through 3rd grade
classrooms providing dental health education for 220 boys and girls. The
children were thrilled and excited by puppet shows, brushing from a giant
toothbrush and puppets with real teeth to brush! Extra educational packets were
given to the school nurse, teachers and Dr. Williams, the school Principal.
Crest donated 230 Crest Spin toothbrushes, toothpaste, literature in Spanish
and English. This was a great day for the children, the school, teachers and
all who participated! A special thank you is extended to the following
participants: Connie Osborn, Paula Harris, Kelly McCullough, Janice Isch-Hite,
Alison Lee, Cynthia Flournoy, Danille French, and Emily Adams. The following
students from Caruth participated: Carrie McMurdie, Cassie Epperson, Christy
Flanagain and Joanne Martinez.
A photographer from the Dallas Morning
News section for the Richardson bureau took photographs of Ms. Dumaine's
Classroom. Photographs included the award presentation to Ms. Dumaine which was
published in the "Monday Notes" section on the RISD website. |
