BCH’s Dental fairy tale engaging young minds for better oral health is highly commended
The tooth fairy has come to our Children’s Hospital in the form of an interactive dental storybook called ‘Floss and Granny visit the Tooth Fairy’.
Dental team and twin sisters, Aya Shammout and Masa Shammout received a highly commended award in the British Society of Paediatric Dentisty Outstanding Innovation Awards (BSPD OIA) 2024 for their innovative educational storybook project.
The storybook, first launched in 2022, reimagines traditional storytelling as an interactive educational journey for children from diverse socio-economic backgrounds.
Aya said: “We’re both so passionate about promoting healthy habits in young children, which encouraged us to embark on this journey.
“We’ve designed this book to ensure that we are featuring and providing high-quality oral health education in an interactive and engaging way."
She said: “There is lots of research that shows storytelling can actually provide superior psychological benefits over traditional teaching methods to help support parents and manage challenging behaviour.
“We were inspired by our passion to reduce oral health inequalities in young children.
“Dental decay is one of the most prevalent issues affecting children today. Children from poorer backgrounds have been found to be four times more likely to have teeth extractions in comparison to those from a more affluent area.”
Masa said: “What distinguishes our storybook is its dyslexia-friendly design, audio version, and supplementary interactive materials, catering to various learning styles.”
Listen to or read the book on Amazon here.
The book is available for free on platforms including Amazon, Apple Books and Google Books. There is also a YouTube video for the book.