SMILE, IT’S THE SMILE FAIRY

It’s next to impossible to get away from the Smile Fairy without, well, smiling. And it’s a good thing because the Smile Fairy is as one may imagine all about smiles and promoting oral dental health.

Decked out in her pink outfit with a tutu, the Smile Fairy, aka Holly Jorgensen of Let’s Smile, Inc., energizes the room at Associated Church Preschool on a recent morning by reading dental books, teaching kids about dental health, and, of course, doing lots of smiling in between.  

“I’m a smile fairy,” Jorgensen tells the kids. “Smiles are so awesome. One of my favorite things about smiling is that it shows our teeth.”

Jorgensen begins her lesson by reading “The Tooth Book” by Dr. Suess. While reading the book, she drives home the important lesson of the day: “Brush your teeth two times per day for two minutes and visit the dentist two times per year.”

And she mixes a little humor into it as well.

“Bite food, never people,” Jorgensen says.

Midway during the lesson, Jorgensen asks, “How many times do we brush.”

“Two,” the kids timidly respond.

“I can’t hear you,” the Smile Fairy quips back. And, the kids respond by yelling louder with the correct answer.

Jorgensen refers to her oral education program as “Pep Rallies,” something she is not aware that’s done by any other organization in the state. She is providing them to about 1,000 kids from preschool to high school throughout Owatonna, Medford, Ellendale and Waseca over the next several weeks. February is a big month as it’s National Children’s Dental Health Month.

“We truly believe in changing behaviors,” said Jorgensen, who is a dental hygienist and has operated the Owatonna-based nonprofit for the past 10 years. “Anything that’s the power of prevention of dental care. Let’s be proactive instead of reactive. We are starting early so we can create habits for a lifetime.”

There are two facets to Let’s Smile—the dental presentations in the schools and a clinic for children who do not have access to regular dental care. The clinic is located inside Community Pathways in Owatonna. In addition to the clinic, she offers pop-up dental clinics on location at schools.

Last year, Jorgensen served 724 children in her clinic settings, in addition to the other 1,000 children in the school programs.

The clinic offers preventative dental care for low income financially struggling families, according to Jorgensen. She finds it's often a double-edged sword for families. Yes, they can put off preventative dental care, but “if you put it off long enough, you have big problems,” she said.

There is no charge to families for services provided by Let’s Smile, Jorgensen said. The organization is funded by the United Way of Steele County and America’s Tooth Fairy Foundation.

“They deserve dental care just like everybody else,” Jorgensen said. “Just because they are low income doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have it,” she added.

During her dental screenings, Jorgensen checks for infections and cavities. Anything requiring more serious dental work is referred to a regular dentist in Faribault. Jorgensen is in the process of acquiring a retired dentist to work in her Owatonna clinic later this year.

For the past two years, the Smile Fairy has been rolling around the area in the Molar Roller, a vehicle equipped with everything she needs to do presentations and pop-up clinics. “I could not get anything more into my own personal vehicle,” Jorgensen said as to the need for the organization to purchase a vehicle.

Let’s Smile, which is celebrating its 10^th anniversary this year, has featured Jorgensen as the director, and yes, the Smile Fairy as well, during the entire period.