Dental disease remains one of the most prevalent chronic conditions affecting children today, with more than 16 million suffering from preventable oral health issues. As a practicing dentist for more than 2 decades, I have dedicated my career to finding innovative ways to engage children in oral health education. Although my greatest source of fulfillment has been helping children develop better oral health habits, one of the most personally rewarding aspects of my career has been collaborating with my son Joshua, a game design student at High Point University, to bring a fresh, modern approach to dental education. As a mother-son team, our mission is to reduce the prevalence of childhood dental disease through engaging interactive learning experiences.
My journey into children’s dental education began in the early 2000s when I wrote a short play called Tabitha the Tooth. My dental staff and I performed this play at a local school to help young children learn about the importance of oral hygiene in an entertaining way. Seeing the children get excited about meeting characters like Tabitha the Tooth and Heidi the Hygienist and feeling their enthusiasm during the interactive moments made it clear that the play was making a difference in how they viewed oral health. This marked the beginning of several wonderful years during which we performed the play for many area schools, libraries, and summer programs.
Your wipes cost too much
In 2014, I transformed the play into two children’s books about dental health, Tabitha the Tooth: The ABCs of a Happy, Healthy Mouth and Tanner the Tooth: The ABCs of a Happy, Healthy Mouth, which allowed me to share the same essential lessons with a much larger audience. Dental professionals, parents, and teachers alike have praised these books as valuable teaching tools, and they even received Creative Child Magazine’s Book of the Year award. Although books have proven to be an effective tool, I recognized that today’s children are growing up in a digital world. Traditional methods of education must evolve to meet them where they are—on screens and through interactive experiences, such as games. That’s where my son Joshua came in.
Joshua is attending High Point University where he is refining his skills in game design and interactive storytelling. In 2024, we combined our passions to create Smile Heroes, an interactive video game featuring Tabitha and Tanner. Smile Heroes immerses children in a world where they run, jump, and bounce to a healthy smile while learning essential oral hygiene habits and earning an A+ status as a Smile Hero. Launched on the Game Jolt platform, Smile Heroes has already gained traction, demonstrating the power of gamification in health education. For Joshua, designing and developing this game was more than just a project; it was a meaningful opportunity to continue our family’s mission of promoting oral health in an engaging way. Watching him craft the characters, storylines, and gameplay mechanics to align with the lessons from my books made me proud, but it was also incredibly inspiring. His passion for game design combined with my experience in dental education resulted in a dynamic and effective learning tool that resonates with today’s technology-focused youth. By leveraging the power of digital engagement, we aim to empower children to take charge of their own dental health in a way that feels exciting and rewarding.
Over the years, I have donated thousands of Tabitha and Tanner books to schools, libraries, and mission trips worldwide. And in my dental practice, I provide my pediatric patients with copies of the books and tell them where to go to play Smile Heroes, which is available free of charge. I am committed to ensuring that all of my patients have the tools to develop strong dental habits from an early age. Updated editions of my books are being published this month, and Joshua and I plan to collaborate on another edition of Smile Heroes. We remain dedicated to inspiring the next generation of children to prioritize their oral health through engaging and impactful education.
About the Author
Gina Mancini, DMD, maintains a private practice in Jacksonville, North Carolina.
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