Dental Professionals Invited to Join the 2024 My Smile Matters Campaign

America’s ToothFairy is calling on dental professionals to participate in its third annual My Smile Matters campaign, held in October to celebrate National Dental Hygiene Month. Launched in 2022, the campaign aims to highlight the importance of oral health and the role dental hygienists play in children's overall health, according to a press release from America’s ToothFairy.

Jill Malmgren, executive director of America’s ToothFairy, emphasized the need to change the perception that tooth decay is inevitable in childhood.

“Many parents still view tooth decay as an unavoidable part of childhood,” Malmgren said in the press release. “Through this campaign, we’re striving to change that perception by educating families about the profound influence a healthy smile can have on both physical health and lifelong success.”

The campaign has expanded each year, reaching over 100,000 people in 2022 and nearly 170,000 in 2023 through educational materials available at MySmileMatters.org, as cited in the press release.

The 2024 campaign, sponsored by Darby Dental Supply, includes activities such as:

• Nominating exceptional dental hygienists for national recognition.
• A social media toolkit with 25 ready-to-use posts and graphics.
• A contest encouraging the public to share why healthy smiles matter.
• Campaign t-shirts available throughout the month.
• The My Smile Matters Challenge, which focuses on providing toothbrushes and oral health materials to underserved children.
• Free, downloadable educational resources for schools and communities.

Malmgren added that this year’s campaign is one of the largest to date, with many professionals already preparing for its October 1 launch.

“This year’s campaign is one of our biggest efforts to date,” Malmgren said in the press release. “We’re thrilled to see dental professionals and educators nationwide already embracing the campaign by downloading resources and preparing for the October 1st launch. We’re continuing to expand our offerings and add new resources throughout the month.”

To learn more or join, visit the website here.