Grade schoolers learn oral health through assembly

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By: Meredith Juliet

DECATUR, Ill. (WAND): Tooth Wizard and Plaque Man are digging their teeth into oral health.

The characters were at Garfield Montessori Magnet School with the Delta Dental of Illinois Foundation's Land of Smiles program.

It aims to teach young kids how to fight cavities.

The district says by kindergarten, 25 percent of students in Decatur School District 61 will have a cavity. They say that's why this program is important.

"They're very interactive with the students and they're teaching about oral hygiene and how important it is," Laura Chapman, the school nurse, says. "The younger they learn, the sooner they develop the habit and they continue on to have it for life."

Kids were able to go up on stage and brush an oversized set of teeth to learn all the different places to brush.

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