With a toothy grin, dentist Sonia Clesner hopes to win over children wary of oral hygiene.
Two years ago, she created an oversized stuffed tooth doll as a mascot for her Mount Airy practice, but the demand from parents and patients young and old got her sewing dozens of smaller dolls. When she got a request for 25 of the grinning, blue-eyed teeth, she decided to make it work for her.
“I wanted to make it in such a way that it was somewhat of an incentive for [children]. I incorporated good health habits into the doll, with the doll as a carrot” to get them brushing and flossing, Clesner said.
So the tooth has a back pocket for floss and a work pants-style strap to hold a child?s toothbrush. And the satiny plushness is meant to help small children overcome their dental-chair anxiety. “When a small child comes into the dentist?s office, and it?s unfamiliar and sterile-looking, all of a sudden, to have something soft and cuddly to hold onto is terrific,” said Jim Feldman, a colleague of Clesner?s who is considering using the dolls in his practice.
Then there?s the stick. “When I address a classroom or group, the look on their face when I tell them that gum disease has been connected to heart disease, diabetes, stroke and other diseases,” Clesner said. “This is serious.”
She took some business management classes and is considering a side business. “I don?t know at this moment where it?s going to go,” she said. “I?m working to target 30 dentists in the state as a test market.”
