Dental caries remains the most common chronic disease of childhood, yet it is almost entirely preventable. Despite advances in oral health-care, thousands of children continue to face barriers to receiving preventive dental services due to transportation challenges, financial hardship, workforce shortages, and limited access to a dental home.

As public health dental hygienists, we saw these barriers firsthand. We also recognized an opportunity to rethink how care is delivered. Instead of waiting for children to come to us, we asked a different question: What if we brought dental care directly to them?

That question became the foundation of Traveling Tooth Fairies, a New Hampshire-based nonprofit organization dedicated to providing preventive and minimally invasive dental care directly in schools and community settings at no cost to families.

Meeting children where they are

School-based oral health programs have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to improve access to care while reducing oral disease. Yet many communities continue to struggle with reaching children before small problems become painful emergencies.

Traveling Tooth Fairies was created to bridge that gap in New Hampshire.

Using portable dental equipment, our clinical team provides oral health screenings, oral hygiene instruction, fluoride varnish applications, glass ionomer sealants, silver diamine fluoride, SMART restorations, risk assessments, referrals, and care coordination directly within schools. We also collaborate closely with school nurses, administrators, parents, and local dental providers to ensure children receive the follow-up care they need.

Our mission is simple: remove barriers, prevent disease, and keep children healthy, smiling, and ready to learn.

Today, Traveling Tooth Fairies has provided care to more than 3,500 children in Nashua and throughout New Hampshire, delivering thousands of preventive treatments and connecting hundreds of children with dental homes.

When prevention can’t wait

One of the most rewarding aspects of our program is the strong partnership we’ve built with school nurses.

When a child walks into the nurse’s office complaining of dental pain, the nurse often calls us directly. We pack our portable equipment, travel to the school, evaluate the child, communicate with the family, and help coordinate the next steps in care. For children without dental insurance or whose families face financial barriers, we work with community partners to ensure they receive the treatment they need. When necessary, Traveling Tooth Fairies covers the cost of care so that no child goes without treatment due to financial hardship.

These moments remind us that public health extends far beyond prevention it is about responding when children need us most.

Mobility that expands access

This summer marked an exciting milestone for Traveling Tooth Fairies with the unveiling of our new mobile utility van.

The van represents far more than transportation. It represents access to care, community collaboration, and a shared commitment to ensuring that every child has the opportunity to receive quality oral health-care, regardless of their circumstances.

It represents opportunity, collaboration, and hope.

The van allows our team to safely transport portable dental equipment, instruments, supplies, educational materials, and technology to schools throughout New Hampshire. It also enables us to respond more efficiently when schools request assistance for children experiencing urgent dental needs.

While the ribbon cutting celebrated a vehicle, what we were truly celebrating was a community coming together to improve children’s health.

Dental hygienists as leaders

The profession of dental hygiene continues to evolve—and public health offers tremendous opportunities for leadership.

Dental hygienists possess the clinical knowledge, preventive expertise, and patient education skills necessary to improve oral health at the population level. Whether working in schools, community clinics, federally qualified health centers, long-term care facilities, or nonprofit organizations, hygienists have the ability to transform access to care.

Traveling Tooth Fairies is proof that dental hygienists can successfully lead innovative community programs, build interdisciplinary partnerships, secure grants, collaborate with legislators and community organizations, and create sustainable models that improve health outcomes for children.

As health-care increasingly shifts toward prevention, the leadership of dental hygienists has never been more important.

More than statistics

Program numbers help demonstrate impact, but they never tell the full story.

Behind every fluoride varnish application is a child whose cavity may have been prevented and behind every sealant is a child protected from future disease Behind every referral is a family receiving guidance they may never have found otherwise and behind every school visit is a nurse who knows help is only a phone call away.

Those are the moments that define our mission.

Looking ahead

The new utility van is not our destination it is simply another tool that allows us to reach more children, more communities, and more families across New Hampshire.

Our vision remains unchanged: to ensure that every child has access to preventive oral healthcare regardless of where they live or their family’s circumstances.

We hope our experience encourages other dental hygienists to think beyond traditional practice settings, embrace innovation, and recognize the powerful role they can play in improving public health.

Sometimes changing a child’s future begins with something as simple as bringing care directly to where that child learns. This is a reminder that the Tooth Fairy is real. She may not leave money under a pillow, but every day she brings relief from pain, restores smiles, gives children back their confidence, and reminds them that someone in this community cares.