You probably have one on your desk: a photo of your little one that's positively, irresistibly adorable! If so, we'd like to see it. Why, you ask?

Well, February 1 is the first day of National Children's Dental Health Month. This annual event, sponsored by the American Dental Association (ADA), is a great time to think about how to keep kids' smiles looking their very best — with a good daily oral hygiene routine and regular check-ups at the dentist's office. What better way to support this worthwhile cause than to show off the cutest kid smiles we can find?

So if you have a child 8 years old or younger with a cute smile — and a photo to prove it! — we invite you to enter Dear Doctor's Cutest Smile Photo Contest. Simply upload your photo to Dear Doctor's facebook page by February 12. On February 13, Entrants, their friends and the public can begin voting for each photo they like once per day through February 26. Share your photo with friends via facebook and e-mail so everyone will know to vote! A total of three prizes will be awarded to the top three vote-getters as follows:

• 1st Place Winner: $300 VISA gift card
• 2nd Place Winner: $150 VISA gift card
• 3rd Place Winner: $50 VISA gift card

So remember, the contest entry period begins at 12:01 a.m. (E.S.T.) on February 1, 2012 and closes at 11:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) on February 12, 2012. The contest voting period begins at 1:00 a.m. (E.S.T.) on February 13, 2012 and closes at 11:00 p.m. (E.S.T.) on February 26, 2012.

To be eligible to enter the Contest, an Entrant must be a U.S. or Canadian citizen or permanent legal resident and be at least 18 years of age at the time of submission of the entry. Contest is void in Quebec, Puerto Rico, U.S. territories and possessions outside of the U.S., and where prohibited by law. The child whose photo is submitted must be no older than 8 years of age as of February 1, 2012.

Good luck!

According to the National Confectioners Association, Americans spend more than $1.5 billion on Easter candy each year, second only to the $1.77 billion spent on Halloween. This means that on average each American will eat the equivalent of 25 pounds of candy, plus an additional 2 pounds of gum each year. Dear Doctor magazine encourages moderation to parents and caregivers. We strongly encourage you to become an educated consumer and monitor the amount of candy your children consume, and if they do eat candy to confine it to mealtimes, also ensure a healthy diet, brushing with fluoride containing toothpaste, chewing xylitol gum, which reduces the risk of cavities. Another idea is to modify the treats you (or the Easter Bunny) include in Easter baskets as there are many great things to give children that do not contribute to tooth decay or to childhood obesity. Some great ideas include giving some arts and crafts supplies, music CDs, books, and electronic gadgets.

February is National Children's Dental Health Month, an annual observance during which dental and medical professionals, educators, and parents focus efforts to improve the oral health of all children.

Tooth decay in children is a fast-growing problem in the United States posing serious health risks. It is the most chronic disease affecting American children. A child's overall health is closely linked to his or her oral health. Developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a jump start in maintaining a lifetime of good oral health.

Beginning in 1941 as a 1-day event in Cleveland, Ohio, the American Dental Association (ADA) went on to hold its first national observance on February 8, 1949. This single day national observance became a weeklong event in 1955 and in 1981 and has finally extended to a month-long celebration now known as the National Children's Dental Health Month. Its message reaches millions of people in communities all across the country. The 2010 Dental Health Month's slogan is “For A Sparkly Smile, Remember To Brush and Floss Every Day.” Contests, games, puzzles, posters as well as educational activities, videos and booklets are offered by the ADA to promote the value of developing good oral health habits to provide a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums for a “Sparkly Smile.”

Download free games, activities, puzzles and educational materials by visiting www.ADA.org

Around the first birthday, training cups should be introduced to “train” a baby to graduate from a bottle to a cup. The use of a training or sippy cup will provide an easier transition for the child when going from the bottle to a regular cup. A cup with a snap-on or screw-on lid with a spout for sipping is highly recommended by the American Dental Association. A cup with two handles will also make it easier for the child to hold. Avoid using a no-spill type of cup. The valve inside these cups, which prevents the flow of liquid from spilling out, requires that the child suck on the cup to release the liquid. This sucking action imitates the same sucking action required with a baby bottle thus defeating the purpose of training a child to sip from a cup rather than sucking on it. A good alternative to a no-spill cup is a self-righting one with a weighted base to keep spills to a minimum.

As with a bottle, don't allow a child to sip on sugary liquids for long periods of time. Frequent and prolonged exposure of a baby's teeth to liquids containing sugar including milk, formula or fruit juice is a risk factor for early childhood caries (decay). Ideally, milk, formula and juice should only be offered at mealtimes, offering water between meals. During a meal, the production of saliva increases which helps to neutralize acid production and rinses food particles from the mouth. Cups should not be used to pacify a child or used at nap or bedtimes. Frequent sips of sugary liquid can encourage tooth decay. Once the child has learned how to sip, a regular cup should be introduced.

Dear Doctor asked kindergarten and first graders what happens to their teeth after the tooth fairy takes them.

They responded as only children can! They said...

• she uses them to make teeth for old people!
• she makes bracelets and necklaces with them!
• she has the power to turn them into money!
• she gives them to people who don’t have any teeth!
• they become stars in the sky!
• she builds an ivory castle with them!
• she grinds them into fairy dust to give her the magic she needs to fly!
• she gives them to new babies who are ready to grow teeth because I’m getting big teeth now!
• she gives the good teeth to dentists to make false teeth!
• she grinds them up and makes sand for the beach!
• she sands them real smooth and makes pearl necklaces!
• she gives them to hockey players because they really need them!
• she has the biggest tooth collection ever!

Every child needs a toothfairy to dream about!

You can become a toothfairy to give a child a healthy smile! Dear Doctor magazine encourages you to support the National Children's Oral Health Foundation and The Toothfairy Campaign!

While thumb or finger sucking is a completely normal behavior for babies, parents and caregivers need to be aware that if it continues too long, it could prove harmful to the development of your child's teeth and jaws. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that parents and caregivers encourage children to stop this habit by age three. And recent studies have shown that pacifier use after the age of two may cause long-term changes in the mouth; thus they recommend stopping pacifier use by 18 months.

Understand why this behavior for young children bears watching in Thumb Sucking in Children.

Establishing the foundation for lifelong good oral health begins with a child's first visit to the dentist. Unfortunately, some parents or caregivers make the mistake of assuming that just because a child's first teeth are “only baby teeth...and they fall out anyway” that they really don't need to worry until they have permanent teeth. Nothing could be further from the truth! Taking your children in for their age one dental visit enables your dentist or pediatric dentist to identify that teeth and jaws are developing correctly, whether habits such as sucking on baby bottles are causing tooth decay, or there are other underlying issues that may indicate future problems.

Encouraging your young child to brush daily will help to develop good oral hygiene practices early in life. But did you know that parents should monitor the amount of fluoride toothpaste for children under the age of 6. Higher-than-recommended levels of fluoride have been associated with an increased risk of mild discoloration in developing, unerupted teeth. Children should use only a pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste or an amount equivalent to the size of the child's fingernail. After brushing, a child should be encouraged to spit out and not swallow the toothpaste.

The use of fluoride mouthrinses is also not recommended for children younger than 6 because they tend to swallow more than they spit out.

Even though children use fluoride toothpaste, it may still be important for them to receive fluoride treatments with their routine six-month dental cleanings and exams. And why does this matter? Fluoride has the unique ability to strengthen tooth enamel, which is made-up of an incredible crystalline substance, calcium hydroxyapatite—the hardest substance in nature. When you incorporate fluoride, this substance becomes calcium fluorapatite, which is more resistant to acid attack and thus tooth decay.

Learn more about the importance of fluoride in your child’s oral healthcare in the consultation article, Topical Fluoride.