Did you know that February 28 is National Tooth Fairy Day? This is more timely than ever in our house because Iris has her first loose tooth! Actually, she has two of them – the front two bottom teeth are getting wigglier by the day. Iris is beyond thrilled, while I can’t help but be a tad bit sentimental about my baby growing up so fast!

Iris has been going to the dentist every six months since she was about two and a half years old and thankfully she’s THE biggest fan of dentist visits… especially after her last report of no cavities and finding out that the Tooth Fairy will soon be visiting. I sat down and asked Iris a few questions about the Tooth Fairy and here’s what she had to say:

And not only is National Tooth Fairy Day coming up, but February is also National Children’s Dental Health Month (NCDHM). This year I’ve teamed up with Delta Dental of Arkansas, who is celebrating NCDHM by empowering parents like me with important information and myth busters to help protect our children’s smile and overall health. We started out making going to the dentist a fun, exciting experience and thankfully Iris still loves it. Even though we’ve been taking her for a while now, I was still surprised to learn a few new things myself about kids and dental care.

Here are some powerful stats from Delta Dental, along with some interesting Myth busters:

– Each year, children miss an estimated 51 million hours of school because of dental-related illnesses, many of which are easily preventable.
– Tooth decay remains the most common chronic disease of children aged six to eleven and adolescents twelve to nineteen years of age. In fact, according to a 2010 report from the Arkansas Department of Health, 64 percent of Arkansas students have evidence of current or past cavities, 29 percent had untreated cavities and 27 percent were in need of routine care.
– Studies show that the earlier a child received regularly-scheduled, quality dental care, the less likely they will develop long term oral health illnesses.

Now that we know even more about protecting Iris’ oral health and how important it is, we keep brushing, flossing, and waiting for the Tooth Fairy (and maybe even a dollar bill).

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Delta Dental. The opinions and text are all mine.