Molli Corcoran (left) developed a program to teach children dental health. The program has expanded with more Tooth Fairies, one of them being Jasmine Lomax (on the right).
courtesy Molli Corcoran
SNOHOMISH — Molli Corcoran of Snohomish may seem like all your other neighbors. But, she has a secret. By day, Molli is the Tooth Fairy.
Corcoran, a bubbly personality, describes herself as someone who has always been, “a very smiley person.”
Her pride in her smile is what drives her to teach kids to have pride in their own smiles. As a part of the Tooth Fairy Experience program, she dresses up and visits schools around Washington state as a sort-of healthy smile evangelist. With puppet friends, Molli dons her sparkly wings and pearly white smile to educate children about oral health.
Molli developed this program together with Delta Dental of Washington and the Arcora Foundation to educate kids in kindergarten through second grade how to better take care of their teeth.
She hopes to be a part of decreasing the amount of teeth decay in kids. Over 50% of third graders in the state of Washington already have tooth decay. The number is even higher in Snohomish, with 58% of third graders experiencing tooth decay.
Recently, Molli returned to her own elementary school, Totem Falls Elementary, as the Tooth Fairy. She describes this experience as especially exciting as she got to bring her love for acting back with her, a passion that began right in those school walls with her debut role as Annie in “Annie: the Musical.”
Corcoran is an actor by trade, and her job as the Tooth Fairy started as just another role. But, she says that as she met more kids and learned about oral health, she became passionate about being a part of this program in a bigger way. Corcoran approached Delta Dental about creating a program in the schools to educate kids, and created The Tooth Fairy Experience.
Corcoran wants kids to leave the program knowing that “every smile is beautiful and every child deserves a healthy smile...they have the power to take control of their oral health,” she said.
She says that a lot of kids have heard words like “cavity” or “filling,” but this program helps them to learn how those things happen in terms that they will understand and remember.
All participating kids get to go home with an educational children’s book about oral health developed along with the Arcora Foundation, as well as a pencil, pencil pouch, toothbrush, and two-minute timer for brushing teeth. Last year the program reached 30,000 kids, and this year they hope to reach even more.
When asked what was most exciting about being the Tooth Fairy, Corcoran said that the outfit is sparkly and fun, but the most exciting part is, “...encouraging and instilling confidence in (the kids’) smiles.”
Correction, April 2:
The photo caption identified the incorrect person on the right. It is Jasmine Lomax. The Tribune regrets the error.
