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For a child, learning how to care for their smile can start almost anywhere: at storytime in a library, during a school health lesson, at a food pantry, in a clinic waiting room, or through a trusted community outreach program.
That is why America’s ToothFairy created the Smile Guardian Program.
Through Smile Guardian education kits, America’s ToothFairy equips schools, libraries, food banks, clinics, health departments, and community organizations with engaging resources that help children and families build healthy oral hygiene habits at home. The kits make prevention easier to teach, easier to understand, and easier to act on.
In 2026,* Smile Guardian Program sponsors helped provide education kits for as many as 77,000 children and their caregivers across the country.
The kits were not one-size-fits-all. Each version was designed for the setting where it would be used and the families it would reach.
Storytime Smiles kits helped public libraries introduce young children to oral health in a place families already trust.
Each child received a superhero-themed kit that included a dry erase bag to help track daily brushing habits, a toothbrush, an oral health activity booklet, a bookmark with tips in English and Spanish, and a parent brochure with dental health tips for the whole family. Some kits also included superhero capes and masks to make the experience even more fun.
Thanks to sponsors including Boka and the Patterson Foundation, Storytime Smiles kits reached children and caregivers through libraries across the country.
At Canon City Public Library in Colorado, staff shared that children “really enjoyed getting their very own bag with a brand new toothbrush and activity book to color.” They added that the children were “so proud to have something that was truly their very own.”
At Somerset County Library System in Manville, New Jersey, Crystal Hooper said the superhero theme helped make oral health exciting for children.
“The costumes with it were a fun twist to be a dental superhero,” Hooper said. “It was nice to get a real kids dentist to host the story.”
In Detroit, Jessica Keeler of Detroit Public Library shared that the kits supported families at a meaningful time.
“Our state began requiring a dental assessment for kids before they start school,” Keeler said. “This has been a great way to help with that.”
By combining storytelling, activity booklets, hygiene supplies, and parent education, Storytime Smiles gave libraries an easy way to help families talk about brushing, dental visits, and healthy routines.
Smile Guardian Nutrition & Oral Health kits were designed for food banks and food pantries, where families are already seeking support for one of the biggest factors affecting both oral health and overall health: nutrition.
Sponsored by Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation, the kits reached 10,000 children through food banks and food pantries. Each child received a superhero-themed bag, an activity booklet explaining how feeding unhealthy microbes in the mouth can contribute to dental disease, and a parent brochure with nutrition and dental health tips for the whole family. The kits also included hygiene supplies such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and floss, plus posters with oral health tips for food bank locations.
These materials helped families see that oral health is not separate from overall health. What children eat and drink affects the bacteria in their mouths, the strength of their teeth, and their risk for tooth decay.
For families facing food insecurity, that message must be delivered with care. The goal is not to shame families for the choices available to them, but to provide practical information that helps them protect their children’s smiles with the resources they have.
By bringing oral health education into food assistance settings, these kits helped reach children who may face barriers to regular dental care and gave parents simple, useful guidance they could apply at home.
Swap When Sick kits helped children and families learn a simple but often overlooked habit: replacing a toothbrush after an illness.
Supported by Delta Dental of Kentucky, Delta Dental Foundation and Delta Dental of North Carolina, and the Schattner Foundation, Swap When Sick kits included a special activity book for children who are home sick, a new toothbrush, a parent brochure explaining why toothbrush replacement matters, and materials such as posters, table tents, and buttons for healthcare offices distributing the kits.
At Let’s Smile, Inc. in Owatonna, Minnesota, Holly Jorgensen said the “Swap When Sick” activity booklets quickly became a favorite among the children and families they serve through school-based dental programs and their community clinic.
“The interactive format makes infection prevention understandable and empowering for children,” Jorgensen said. “Teaching students when and why to replace their toothbrush after illness is such a simple but powerful preventive health message, and this resource makes it engaging, memorable, and actionable.”
She also noted that the parent brochures helped extend the lesson beyond the dental visit or school program.
“They help reinforce oral health and hygiene education at home, extending the reach of our school-based programs and strengthening family involvement in preventive care,” Jorgensen said.
At Elkhorn Logan Valley Public Health Department in Norfolk, Nebraska, Kerri Dittrich said the timing of the materials was especially helpful.
“What a great resource, and timely as we have so much illness in our community right now,” Dittrich said. “We already started distributing flyers to schools and local urgent care clinics. The clinics were so thankful for this resource. They were excited to wear the pins to promote this message to ill patients.”
The Swap When Sick kits gave healthcare providers, schools, and community programs an easy way to share a timely prevention message with families while also giving children a fresh toothbrush to take home.
Other Smile Guardian kits helped educators, dental professionals, community health workers, and outreach leaders bring oral health education into classrooms, screenings, Head Start programs, after-school programs, health fairs, and home visits.
These kits included superhero-themed booklets, rack cards, bookmarks, toothbrushes, toothpaste, toothbrush caps, bags, posters, handheld signs, superhero capes and masks, and banners for selected outreach sites.
MGE: Management Experts supported back-to-school kits distributed to Dental Resource Program members and New Year Smile Guardian kits sent to community health advocates, helping reach children through schools, clinics, screenings, and outreach events.
For Lisa Fockler, a classroom teacher at Dover South School in Ohio, the kits helped turn oral health education into something children could take with them beyond the classroom.
“The kids loved the little workbooks and getting a new toothbrush to take home,” Fockler said.
In Missouri, dental professional Jamie Pollock used her kit to support oral health presentations and screenings for children in Head Start programs. Many of the families she serves have limited funds for hygiene products, which made the take-home materials especially meaningful.
“Truly so great to screen, educate, and have tangible materials for them to take home,” Pollock said.
At Scenic Bluffs Community Health Centers in Cashton, Wisconsin, Samantha Knutson said the materials were useful across the organization’s dental, medical, and school-based programs.
“As a Community Health Center with integrated services, this toolkit was beneficial in multiple departments,” Knutson said. “The brochures were probably the most beneficial, but the activity books were also great and both will be handed out in Scenic Bluffs’ medical department, dental department, and throughout our school oral health program locations until they are gone.”
In Charlotte, North Carolina, Care Ring Nurse-Family Partnership used Smile Guardian materials provided by Gotu to support a new oral health initiative for pregnant women and families enrolled in home visiting services.
“We are providing toothbrushes, floss, and toothpaste along with an educational handout about oral health in pregnancy,” said Megan Dunn of Care Ring Nurse-Family Partnership. “Some of these mothers are parenting older children, and we will distribute Smile Guardian Resource Kits to them during home visits.”
At MAHEC in Asheville, North Carolina, Samantha Martin said the materials supported elementary school oral health education for students affected by Hurricane Helene.
“I was excited to start teaching dental health in my elementary schools and provide our students with a new toothbrush,” Martin said. “Our students are Hurricane Helene victims and they were very excited to get such a cute toothbrush kit!”
Across many different settings, the response was consistent: children were excited to receive something of their own, educators appreciated ready-to-use materials, and families received simple tools to support healthier routines at home.
The strength of the Smile Guardian Program is its flexibility.
A library can use a Storytime Smiles kit to make brushing feel fun. A food pantry can use a Nutrition & Oral Health kit to help families understand how food choices affect teeth and overall health. A clinic can use Swap When Sick materials to teach families how to prevent reinfection. A school or community health worker can use superhero-themed education kits to make oral health memorable for children who may not have regular access to dental care.
Each kit is different, but the message is the same: prevention starts with education, and every child deserves the tools to protect their smile.
America’s ToothFairy is grateful to the sponsors who helped make 2026 Smile Guardian Program education kits possible, including Cranberry, Boka, Ordo, Delta Dental of Kentucky, Delta Dental Foundation and Delta Dental of North Carolina, Delta Dental of Oklahoma Foundation, GoTu, MGE: Management Experts, Patterson Foundation, and Schattner Foundation.
Together, their support helped bring oral health education, hygiene supplies, and a little superhero fun to children and families nationwide.
To help bring Smile Guardian kits to your community, become Smile Guardian kit sponsor and give children the tools they need to build healthy habits for life.
