‘The Magic Toothbrush’ hopes to ease children’s anxiety over the dentist

'The Magic Toothbrush' aims to teach children how to take care of their teeth, encourage healthy eating and make visits to the dentist's office. (CTV News)

Across Canada, many children are anxious about seeing the dentist, but a school presentation in P.E.I. is fighting that fear – and dentists say it’s working.

The Magic Toothbrush presentation is based on a children’s book by the same name, bringing puppets, props and a magic show into schools across the Island. The aim is threefold: teach children how to take care of their teeth, encourage healthy eating and make visits to the dentist’s office less daunting.

“It can be very, very upsetting when, when you go to the office and you’re so tense,” said Marlene Bryenton, the storybook’s author. “I want the children to go to the dentist office and enjoy their visit.”

More than 200 students at Sherwood Elementary School watched the one-hour presentation on Monday.

“I learned to brush your teeth up and down, all around,” said seven-year-old Athena Ward.

Bryenton, along with the book’s illustrator Leanne Bowlan, volunteer their time to entertain and educate children in English and French immersion kindergarten, as well as Grades 1, 2 and 3.

In the gym, hands shot up when the conversation turned to appointments.

Cameron, 5, said he recently had a cavity that needed to be filled.

“I had a needle right here,” he said, pointing at his right cheek. “I couldn’t eat any crunchy stuff.”

“Not good,” said Max, 5, about his initial feelings toward checkups. But after the presentation: “I think I can go to the dentist now.”

Bryenton says when she was a child, it scared her too. She hopes her book will open dialogue between parents and their children about the importance of caring for their teeth.

The story follows Anna and James, who meet a magician at a water park in Cavendish, P.E.I., named Mr. Magic, who performs a trick, pulling special toothbrushes from his top hat. The enchanted brushes sing and dance, clapping little hands and feet and teach the children how to brush and floss.

“They kind of bring everything to life. It makes it a very playful storybook,” Bryenton said.

Later, the characters visit the dentist. It’s framed as an adventure, walking through the experience step by step.

“We talk about the chairs and who’s going to be there, what they’re going to do. We talk about some of the instruments,” Bowlan said, adding she has always wanted to use her art for a children’s book.

“We also talk about using your imagination and dreaming big. So anything that you wish to do, if you practice, you’re bound to get better at it.”

Dentists say the presentation is making a real difference.

“When you have a three-year-old who has never been in a dental office before, they don’t know what to expect,” said Dr. Michael Connolly, CEO of the Dental Association of P.E.I., which sponsors the program. “When they sit in the chair, they’re pretty good. As soon as they start to lay back, they get a little trepidatious.”

His clinic’s team tries to make it as easy as possible, sometimes examining kids in a parent’s lap or turning on a TV on the ceiling.

“Any opportunity we have to address anxiety and fear with children, be it dentistry or any new experience, certainly helps,” he said.

After the presentation, each child leaves with a toothbrush, teachers receive activity sheets and balloons for their classrooms and the library keeps a custom 50-piece puzzle.

Bryenton says the dream is for the presentation to make its way into schools across Canada. She hopes to start selling the program and training teachers to deliver it. First up is a French version, in hopes of fewer jitters.