Bringing the dental chair to schools: Traveling Tooth Fairies transform children’s oral health

We’re the Traveling Tooth Fairies, two experienced dental hygienists who have made it our mission to bring care directly to the kids who need it most. In our small, cheerful corners of school buildings, we bring joy to school children in New Hampshire by teaching them to brush and take care of their teeth.

We’re the cofounders of Traveling Tooth Fairies, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that delivers preventive and minimally invasive dental care in schools. We’re both public health dental hygienists and past presidents of the New Hampshire Dental Hygienists’ Association, and we launched Traveling Tooth Fairies in 2024. Between us, we’ve spent decades in dentistry, but we found our most rewarding work not in a traditional office, but in classrooms, gyms, and nurse’s offices.

We’ve treated more than 1,500 children, bridging a critical gap for families who face access to care barriers. Our services are grant funded and offered at no cost, ensuring that family income, transportation needs, or insurance status never stand in the way of a healthy smile.

Why we started Traveling Tooth Fairies

During years of clinical practice, we witnessed the same heartbreaking reality: far too many children were suffering from preventable cavities or going without treatment due to barriers such as transportation, cost, or difficulty finding a provider who accepted their insurance. Data from the New Hampshire Oral Health Program highlighted the severity of the issue, identifying Nashua as one of the areas with the highest rates of tooth decay in the state.

For many parents, taking time off work for a dental appointment means losing wages. Add in the cost of gas, lack of reliable transportation, or limited childcare for siblings, and the barriers can feel insurmountable. The result? Kids who need dental care often go without it until the pain is severe.

We knew we could do better. We knew that if kids couldn’t get to the dentist, the dentist needed to go to them. As licensed public health dental hygienists, we had the training and legal authority to deliver preventive and therapeutic services outside the traditional dental office.

We do more than screenings

When we roll into a school, we’re not just checking teeth—we’re delivering a full suite of preventive and minimally invasive treatments designed to stop cavities and keep kids pain free.

Our services include:

• Silver diamine fluoride (SDF): A game changer for managing active decay without drilling, SDF arrests cavities quickly, is painless to apply, and is particularly effective for children who may not tolerate traditional restorative procedures.
• Sealants using glass ionomer materials: Unlike resin sealants, glass ionomer bonds well in less-than-perfectly dry environments. It’s ideal for school settings and slowly releases fluoride over time to strengthen enamel.
• Protective restorations: Sometimes called “interim therapeutic restorations,” these fillings use glass ionomer to seal and protect teeth until a child can see a dentist for definitive treatment.
• Fluoride varnish: This is a fast, highly concentrated fluoride application that strengthens teeth and reduces the risk of cavities.
• Referrals and care coordination: When a child needs more than we can provide on-site, we don’t just hand parents a list of dental offices; we personally act as liaisons, helping families navigate insurance, find providers, and schedule appointments. We have funds set aside to cover services for families who do not have the financial means or for treatments that insurance will not cover.

Every child receives a letter, and parents are informed about what we did, what’s needed next, and how to keep their child’s smile healthy.

The role of public health dental hygienists

In New Hampshire, dental hygienists can work in public health settings without a dentist on-site as long as they hold the appropriate certification. This model empowers hygienists like us to reach children who would otherwise slip through the cracks.

As past presidents of the NH Dental Hygienists’ Association, we’ve advocated for expanding the role of dental hygienists in public health. We’ve seen firsthand how this approach improves health and confidence in children, empowering them to thrive both in and out of the classroom

We’ve treated more than 1,500 children since we started Traveling Tooth Fairies. We arrested hundreds of cavities with SDF, preventing pain and infection, and we’ve placed thousands of sealants, creating a long-lasting barrier against decay.

We met a third grader who couldn’t eat her lunch because chewing was so painful, until we treated her with SDF and gave her back her ability to eat without pain. We met a kindergartener who was too embarrassed to smile because of visible tooth decay, who now proudly shows off her healthy teeth to classmates thanks to the protective restorations placed on her front teeth.

Why the school setting works

By bringing care into schools, we remove the biggest barrier—access. Children don’t miss hours of class for appointments. Parents don’t have to take time off work. And kids who might otherwise never visit a dental professional receive preventive care and early intervention.

Teachers and school nurses tell us that after our visits, they notice the children are more comfortable, more focused, and more confident. A child in pain is a child who can’t concentrate on learning, so in a very real way, our work supports not just oral health, but educational success.

Sustainable, community-driven care

Traveling Tooth Fairies operates entirely through grants and community generosity. We partner with local organizations, civic groups, and health agencies who share our mission. This allows us to keep our services completely free to families, ensuring that cost is never a barrier.

We’ve also built strong relationships with local dental offices who welcome our referrals, knowing that we send them children who genuinely need their expertise. This collaborative model benefits everyone. If cost is a barrier, we cover expenses for care at a dental office. To date, we’ve funded treatment for more than 20 children. Families get the help they need.

A model for other communities

While our work is in New Hampshire, the challenges we address are not unique to our state. Across the country, communities struggle with the same barriers: geographic isolation, workforce shortages, and economic hardship. We believe our program can serve as a model for how public health dental hygienists can extend the reach of the dental care system.

We’re eager to share what we’ve learned—from setting up portable clinics in gyms and libraries, to working within school schedules, to navigating the logistics of care coordination—with other hygienists, educators, and policymakers.

What keeps us going isn’t the numbers; it’s the smiles, the thank yous, and the moments children realize the dentist isn’t scary after all. It’s a teacher saying, “He hasn’t complained about his tooth once since you saw him,” or watching a shy student beam with pride when we tell them their teeth look great.

We believe every child deserves the chance to grow up free from dental pain. That’s why we load up our portable chairs, pack our supplies, and hit the road; because until every child has that chance, our work isn’t done.