Hygienist and Tooth Fairy warn kids about sugar bugs

Published 4:48 am Monday, November 10, 2014

WARRENTON — Freshly awash in Halloween candy, the kindergartners at Warrenton Grade School had a visit Friday from a local dental hygienist and the Tooth Fairy.

Suzanne Jagger, who cleans and examines teeth at Seaside Dental Clinic, and her office manager Shannon Gonzalez, playing Jagger’s pink-clothed tooth fairy, educated four kindergarten classes at WGS on what to do after eating a bad snack and how to choose good ones.

“We want those sugar bugs off your teeth at night time,” said Jagger, trying to provide the simplest of instruction on how to avoid cavities. Jagger, who has a child at WGS, was asked by a teacher to do the presentations Friday.

Children should start visiting the dentist at 18 months old, said Gonzalez, but many often don’t see a dentist until 3 or 4 years, when they’ve often already developed cavities.

“I think dental insurance is more of a luxury,” said Jagger, adding that regardless of the price, getting your teeth cleaned every six months saves a lot of bigger dental costs in the long run.

As for nutrition, Gonzalez and Jagger taught the children about “good” snacks like apples, carrots and cheese sticks, along with the bad, such as candy, Goldfish snacks and, surprising to many of the kids, juice.

“It’s hard,” said Jagger, adding that the timing after Halloween was perfect. “You can’t tell them not to eat bad snacks.”

Jagger and Gonzalez instead gave children simple instructions: brush twice a day, for two minutes, and floss the second time, before bed. They then handed out donated brushes, toothpaste and floss from the Seaside Dental Clinic, along with a calendar to track their brushing habits.

“Keep teaching kids simple habits,” said Gonzalez, who with Jagger preached repetition as the best way to ingrain good habits into kids.

In addition to simple instruction, said Jagger, their visits are about creating an early positive relationship with the dentist, which is why she brings the Tooth Fairy. “She’s a celebrity.”

Jagger added that she and Gonzalez are available for other presentations by calling the Seaside Dental Clinic at 503-738-6520.