Delta Dental Celebrates 20 Years OF LAND OF SMILES® Program

As Delta Dental of Missouri celebrates two decades of its popular, award-winning Lands of Smiles® dental education program, dynamic super-hero characters are gearing up for their return in person at elementary schools across Missouri in early 2023. In recent years in response to COVID, the non-profit company has offered its free program virtually to schools to continue teaching kindergarten through third-grade students good dental health habits. Registration is now open for the return of live performances at a select number of schools in the spring of 2023.

Local teachers, school nurses and principals are invited to email Schools@NationalTheatre.com to request an in-person, live show for the spring semester, or visit www.LandofSmilesMO.org to gain access to the online program on a date and time that works for their students this fall or next spring.

The Land of Smiles® experience follows superhero Captain Super GrinSM, as he defeats his nemesis, Caz CavitySM, with help from his sidekicks Terri Tooth FairySM and ToothpickSM. Students learn the importance of brushing teeth twice a day, flossing, eating healthy foods and visiting the dentist regularly. The program includes an oral health curriculum that adheres to National Health Education Standards, as well as standards for Missouri. It contains engaging, age-appropriate materials to make learning about dental health entertaining for kids and includes activity sheets, which are also now available in Spanish.

Since its inception in the fall of 2002, the Land of Smiles® program has taught more than 1.1 million kids how to take care of their growing smiles through more than 4,800 onsite performances at schools in 113 Missouri counties, and through its online version.

“We’re excited to again offer live Land of Smiles performances at grade schools in early 2023, and to now include activity sheets in Spanish to make learning about dental health easy and fun for even more youngsters,” said Rob Goren, president and chief executive officer at Delta Dental of Missouri. “As we mark the 20th anniversary of Land of Smiles, we’re thrilled to know that the program has helped improve the lives of more than a million kids.”

Delta Dental of Missouri offers free “smile bags” to schools for students who participate in the program. Each bag includes a toothbrush, toothpaste and dental floss to help students practice the good oral health habits they learn. Each school is responsible for distributing the bags to participating students who attend school in person or virtually.

Those interested in learning more or scheduling the program can visit www.LandofSmilesMO.org.