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| Photo by Amy Beaman | ||||||||||
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| Dr. Scott Ballard and Robyn Wheeler, The Creature Teacher show off Kermit, a 1 lb. African Bullfrog | ||||||||||
Fort Worth, TX, Feb 2009-In February 2009, Dr. Scott Ballard of Ballard Family Dentistry in Saginaw, Texas launched a series of Dental Classes for Kids. Reaching over 4,000 children among 10 different Elementary Schools, Dr. Ballard discussed the importance of tooth brushing, getting regular dental exams twice a year and eating the right foods with Kindergarten, 1st and 2nd grade students. All children were encouraged to correctly answer questions about how many times a day they should brush their teeth and for how long. Dr. Ballard explained that two minutes was the appropriate time to brush your teeth and this could be done during a commercial break while watching SpongeBob Squarepants or Zaboomafu. He also grabbed the students attention and added his own sense of humor by telling the children that bacteria live naturally in their mouth but love to eat sticky sweets like Skittles, Starbursts and Sweet Tea. After setting the tone about bacteria he then emphasized that after the bacteria eat the sticky sweets they then "poop out acid in your mouth which create holes in your teeth!!"
Before Dr. Ballard's 7 minute educational yet graphic portrayal of bacteria, Robyn Wheeler, The Creature Teacher warmed the kids up with 6 live exotic animals. Robyn talked to the children about the teeth of various animals and how they, too, need to be given proper dental care in order to be able to properly eat and chew as well as defend themselves. Among the animals that delighted the children were Emerald, the Senegal Parrot, Lacey, the Domestic Rabbit, Kermit, the African Bullfrog, Dino, the Bearded Dragon, Taffy, the Skinny Pig and Bullwinkle the Ball Python. The Creature Teacher explained that Kermit the frog actually posesses three very sharp teeth because he not only eats flies and bugs but small rodents and other smaller frogs as well. She also explained that the difference between a rodent, the Skinny Pig and a lagomorph, the rabbit is that a rodent has one pair of incisors and rabbits have two with the second set, called "peg teeth", placed directly behind the first set. Some of the animals like the bird and bearded dragon do not have teeth at all but either have strong beaks that need polishing and trimming or very strong jaws that make up for their lack of teeth.
At the end of the day, all the children at all 10 Elementary Schools were given a goody bag with a tooth brush, coloring sheet, information for their parents and a magnet with the name and of number of a local Pediodontist. Dr. Ballard and Ballard Family Dentistry received no monetary compensation for their efforts as their main goal is to make sure all children are educated in proper care of their teeth and receiving regular check ups from their dentist.
FEBRUARY IS DENTAL HEALTH MONTH
| Dr. Ballard with Tiny at Comanche Springs | ||||||||||
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| Elementary School in Ft. Worth | ||||||||||
| One student was allowed to pet each animal. | ||||||||||
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| Dr. Ballard discussing how to properly brush | ||||||||||
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| your teeth. | ||||||||||
Fort Worth, TX 2010. For the second year in a row, The Creature Teacher teamed up with Dr. Scott Ballard of Ballard Family Dentistry and Dr. Jeremy Lustig of Lustig Orthodontics to help educate Fort Worth Elementary School children about proper dental hygiene. Dr. Ballard and Dr. Lustig donate their time and expertise to this cause, receiving no monetary compensation. At the end of the show, each students received a "goody bag" with stickers, coloring, a toothbrush and small tube of toothpaste and information for their parents about brushing, flossing, when to visit their dentist and the names of local dentists and orthodontics.
The Creature Teacher grossed out kids by telling them that Kermit, the African Bullfrog, has three teeth and his eyeballs when so enormous that they bulge into the back of his mouth and put pressure on his dinner as he swallows. She got a big round of "OOH!!"'s as she told the kids that a tarantula has no jaws and cannot chew so they barf up digestive juices on their food thereby turning their prey into liquid which allows them to suck up the soupy mixture. Also, just as digusting was the fact the Rocky, the Ball Python can swallow a rat or mouse that is twice the size of his head which is equivilent to a human swallowing an entire watermelon whole. Other animals shown were Gomer the Dwarf Chameleon, Spice the Chinchilla and Tiny, the Sulcata Tortoise.
Dr. Ballard and Dr. Lustig close the show by asking kids to remember the number 2. The number 2 is important because it is the number of times a day you need to brush your teeth, the number of minutes you should brush your teeth and the number of times you should visit the dentist every year. Kids are again told of the bacteria or "worms" that invade your teeth, gums and mouth and everyone needs to rid themselves of the acid the bacteria "poop out" after you eat sweets and chewy candy. All students are assured that when they go to the dentist, it is easy, not painful and all the dentist does is polish their teeth, take pictures of their teeth and fix any cavities. If kids answered questions correctly they were gently tossed a t-shirt from Ballard Family Dentistry.
The Dental Health School Programs in February 2010 will reach nearly 5000 students, 700 teachers and staff within 12 Elementary Schools in Saginaw and Fort Worth.
| Spice, the Chinchilla is a rodent and has over | ||||||||||
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| 20 teeth for eating hay and grasses. | ||||||||||
All Photos taken by Jennifer Anders, Computer Lab Manager at Comanche Springs Elementary School.
