This summer, 26 students age 5 and under at the Building Blocks Learning Center in Dallas, Pennsylvania, expressed their enthusiasm for dental hygiene when the Benco Dental Tooth Fairy stopped by.
Wearing all white with a glittering crown and wings, Pat Motyka, a tooth customer service specialist at Benco’s home office in Pittston, Pennsylvania, visited the school on July 19 to meet the children and talk about the importance of brushing and flossing.
The students were eager to tell her about their brushing and flossing routines, and one girl raised her hand to tell the Tooth Fairy that she loved her. Two other students complimented the Tooth Fairy’s sparkly wings.
Motyka gave each student a take-home package that included a dental kit, stickers, and other surprises. She also read two stories about dental hygiene and distributed tooth-themed coloring sheets.
Plus, students got to practice proper technique with an oversized toothbrush to brush the teeth of Finn, a plush shark puppet used for dental hygiene demonstrations.
“They know she’s real, rather than just their imagination. Seeing the Tooth Fairy in their class makes them think, ‘Oh, I have to brush my teeth. I have to make sure they’re healthy,” said Brittany Palma, a teacher at Building Blocks. “They know that when they lose a tooth, it’ll be okay. She’ll visit and keep their teeth safe.”
Though new to the Tooth Fairy role, with just three classroom visits under her wings, Motyka brings 10 years of dental industry experience to her position at Benco Dental, and she believes her visits make a difference in the students’ oral health.
“Later that day, my coworker Dave Tosh (Benco fleet and logistics manager) emailed me. His daughter was one of the Building Blocks students, and he said she couldn’t wait to come home and tell him about my visit. That made me feel really good,” said Motyka.
“A lot of parents don’t tell their kids about dental health. I know mine didn’t. I think it’s important, because that’s the first thing you see when you talk to someone: their teeth. Benco was kind enough to donate tooth gel, toothbrushes, and brushing charts for the dental kit,” she said.
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