28 May 2025
Who is the Tooth Fairy’s Best Friend?
Cat
hryn Carboon is a dental hygienist who holds a Master of Health Promotion from Deakin University. She is also the DHAA representative on the Oral Health Committee at ADAVB. Cathryn’s dental career has expanded across work in general practice, orthodontics, periodontics and special needs dentistry, in Australia, New Zealand and Germany.
Cathryn authored the children’s picture book ‘Who is the Tooth Fairy’s Best Friend?’, which was published in 2017. Accompanied by wonderful illustrations, the book depicts the ‘Fluoride Fairy’ as the Tooth Fairy’s best friend and describes the ‘Fluoride Magic’ of fluoride-containing toothpaste, fluoridated drinking water and professionally administered fluoride varnishes. This story invites children into a world, where the Fluoride Fairy fights ‘Tooth Trolls’ (aka plaque) and adds magic into the tap water, to keep their teeth strong – allowing children to realise the powerful effects of fluoride on their dental health.
Cathryn kindly donated 100 copies of ‘Who is the Tooth Fairy’s Best Friend’ for ADAVB to distribute as a resource at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children Expo showcase in Melbourne earlier this year. I spoke to Cathryn about the development of her popular book, her career spanning almost four decades and her important work in oral health promotion:
Background and inspiration
1. What inspired you and where did the idea to write The Tooth Fairy’s Best Friend come from?
Ever since I was a child, I’ve always been fascinated by fairies and gnomes. I was mesmerised by the book “Gnomes” written by Wil Huygen and illustrated by noted Dutch artist Rien Poortvliet in 1977. The search for fairies and gnomes consumed my childhood!
My all-time favourite Australian tooth fairy children’s book is “Goodnight and Thanks for the Teeth” A Fairies’ Tale by Rob Alexander and John Marsden, published in 1999. I loved reading this book with my children, it captured my imagination for fairies all over again as an adult.
My love for fairies and gnomes crossed over with my passion for oral health promotion and preventive dentistry. As part of my Master of Health Promotion, I wrote a thesis on “The impact of health literacy on fluoride varnish demand in children.” The research showed a gap in child and caregiver oral health literacy regarding knowledge and understanding of fluoride varnish for preventing dental caries. Health literacy influenced parent’s consent for their child to receive fluoride varnish, with poor health literacy linked to a decrease in fluoride varnish demand.
My Master’s research corroborated with the research I carried out with the Carevan Foundation’s Sun Smiles program at 6 primary schools in NSW and Victoria from 2012 to 2016; which also showed a large gap in children’s oral health literacy regarding knowledge and understanding of water fluoridation and fluoride varnish for preventing dental caries.
Writing and publishing “Who is the Tooth Fairy’s best friend?” was my way of addressing this knowledge gap, by providing evidenced-based information about the benefits of fluoride, in a child-friendly format.
2. As a dental hygienist, how has your experience working with children influenced your storytelling?
Actually, it was my experience having children myself that influenced my storytelling. I have always enjoyed and valued reading books to my children. Two of our favourite Australian authors are Mem Fox and Graeme Base. Both these authors have influenced my storytelling. It was my son’s request to hide a wisdom tooth on each double page in the Tooth Fairy book, inspired by Graeme Base’s hidden images. This additional activity allows children to engage with the book a second time, reinforcing the key messages found within the book.
Book and message
3. What message do you hope children and parents take away from your book?
The importance of fluoride magic for good oral health is my key message.
4. How does The Tooth Fairy’s Best Friend differ from traditional tooth fairy stories?
The Tooth Fairy’s best friend is grounded in evidence-based, preventive dentistry! Every theme in the book is supported by research, including the nutrition advice, wisdom tooth tips and information for teachers, parents and carers.
Publishing and reception
5. We understand that you received a grant to help publish the book.
5a. How did you find the grant application process?
The book was originally published in 2017, through grant-funding from a Dooley’s NSW ClubGRANT, a DHAA community oral health grant and the Carevan Foundation. Recent funding to have the book reprinted has come from the ADA Dental Health Foundation and Mars Wrigley Foundation Healthier Smiles Community Service Grants. The grant application process is time consuming, but well worth the effort. I’m very grateful for all the support I have received over the last 8 years, to help spread Fluoride Magic across Australia and around the world.
5b. What did the grant allow you to do with the book?
The grants allowed me to publish both BIG books and standard books to incorporate into the Carevan Foundation Sun Smiles school fluoride varnish program and community outreach programs. During the Covid19 pandemic, the grant allowed us to pivot to online digital oral health literacy resources to meet the barriers and challenges of delivering oral health promotion and education during Covid19. This initiative also allowed us to develop a more sustainable oral health literacy resource, that will be used for years to come and reach a wider audience across Australia and beyond for greater impact.
3 different book formats are available:
The BIG book ISBN 9781925386615 (34cm x 43cm) is perfect for circle time at libraries and reading aloud in groups at pre-school, childcare centres and kindergarten to Grade 3 in Primary School. Children can take part in the group reading to develop their literacy skills; plus dress up in fairy and tooth troll costumes and have fun acting out the book’s characters. The BIG book is used to start group conversations around the magic of fluoride for good oral health. It is a sought-after classroom resource.
The standard book ISBN 9781925386592 (21cm x 26cm) is available for children to share with their family. The colourful text and rhyming pattern enable collaborative reading with parents or siblings and extends the BIG book group-based learning into the family home. The book glossary, wisdom tooth tips and information page for teachers and parents provides additional literacy support. Early shared reading experiences build language and literacy skills, so the standard books are provided free-of-cost to all children participating in the Sun Smiles programs.
The animated book (available on YouTube) brings the book alive with music and narration, allowing parents to easily access the free digital story on their iPad or mobile phone. The animated version can also be shown on school whiteboards.
5c. Did you approach publishing companies and ‘pitch’ your idea?
I approached several book publishing companies to gauge the cost of publishing the books. The book was illustrated, designed and produced by Brolly Books in Melbourne, an independent Australian publishing house. I worked very closely with Emma Borghesi, a very experienced children’s book publisher at Brolly Books.
6. Do you have any anecdotes to share about developing, illustrating, publishing or promoting the book?
During the devastating bushfires of 2019 -2020 I was inspired to start #books4bushfires. I was deeply touched by the Australian bushfire crisis which was unfolding in our own local communities in the Border region of Victoria and NSW. I was inspired by the fundraising efforts of the organisation #AuthorsForFireys, where authors donated their signed books to be auctioned to raise money for Australian firefighters and other bushfire appeals. This led me to develop a fundraising appeal with the Carevan Foundation, whose motto is “It’s easier to care than to turn away”. The Foundation donated 100% of the proceeds from the book sale of signed copies of “Who is the Tooth Fairy’s best friend?” to support families affected by the bushfire crisis in Northeast Victoria.
7. What has the response been from parents, children and the dental community?
The initial reason for publishing the book was to support the Carevan Foundation’s Sun Smiles fluoride varnish program in disadvantaged primary schools in rural regions of Victoria and NSW. After such a great response from children, parents and school teachers, we decided to expand the oral health literacy component of the program and really focus on embedding the book and its positive fluoride messages into all our oral health promotion projects.
8. Have you incorporated the book into your dental practice? If so, how do young patients react to it?
The book is a great addition to dental practice waiting rooms, kids can be entertained searching for the hidden wisdom teeth throughout the book! Many parents tell me about the fun their children have had reading the book and engaging with the characters, the tooth trolls are very popular. Older patients have asked for the books for their grandchildren.
We have also incorporated the book into the ADA’s Dental Health Week activities and colouring competition prize hamper. It makes a great gift, together with a green Tooth Troll brushing timer!
9. Do you have any advice you could share for our ADAVB members who might be interested in publishing oral health stories?
Be willing to dedicate a lot of time to the publishing journey, as it is a very long process. Make sure you engage a dedicated book publisher to make the journey easier to navigate.
Community engagement and giving back:
10. You generously donated copies of your book for ADAVB to distribute at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children Expo. Why was this an important initiative for you?
I have loved representing the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia, on the ADAVB Oral Health Committee, so I was very excited to volunteer at the Pregnancy, Babies and Children Expo in 2024 and I’ll be volunteering again in July 2025. This expo provides the perfect opportunity to reach out to families, who may not have access to a dental practice. Parents are really receptive to health information, during pregnancy and the early years of childhood, so this is the perfect time to be proactive and provide engaging, easy to understand oral health advice.
Career and experience:
11. You have had an extensive career in dentistry, spanning general practice, orthodontics, periodontics, and special needs dentistry. How have these experiences influenced your approach to oral health education?
Oral health education needs to be tailored to meet the needs of specific groups. It is definitely not a one-size-fits-all approach. While it is important to provide oral health education in the clinical setting, it is equally important to volunteer your time to provide oral health education in the community setting and reach out to those in your community who may not have access to dental care and advice.
12. What have been some of the most rewarding moments in your career?
Receiving International recognition for my Sun Smiles and SmileCARE projects, through the International Federation of Dental Hygienists (IFDH) and Global Child Dental Fund Social Responsibility Awards. Including representing the DHAA at the IFDH global oral health strategy session and social responsibility conference in Florence, Italy in 2017.
Being an invited keynote speaker at the IFDH International Dental Hygiene Symposium in Seoul, South Korea in 2024, to present on Sustainable Smiles, focusing on sustainability in oral health.
Receiving life membership from my peers at the Dental Hygienists Association of Australia at the combined DHAA - ADOHTA National Conference in Sydney in 2024.
13. What would you like to see change in the dental industry?
I would like to see better collaboration between the dental professions and a greater focus on preventive care and oral health promotion.
Oral health promotion and education:
14. How do you address concerns some people have about fluoride?
There is so much negative publicity and mis-information on social media regarding fluoride and this trend is increasing. Unfortunately, many families never hear the positive, evidenced based facts about fluoride and how it contributes to good oral health.
Given that the use of fluorides to prevent caries has the largest evidence base for any preventive oral health intervention, it’s imperative that all oral health professionals are pro-active in supporting initiatives for water fluoridation, school toothbrushing programs and community fluoride varnish programs, especially in rural and remote regions.
Children need to engage in learning about the benefits of fluoride with age appropriate, fun, visual literacy resources which are linked to the children’s cognitive ability level. The resources need to be shared within the child’s family environment to have a greater impact and involve parents in the learning process. Picture books provide one approach to support oral health literacy for young children.
Fun questions:
15. If you could create another magical dental creature, what would it be?
I have created the Pyjama Fairy and published a tooth fairy companion book titled “Pyjama Fairy & Friends Activity Book” The pyjama fairy is actually based on a photo of my daughter Jasmine, when she was a young child. Grace Leong, a very gifted, young Melbourne-based animator and illustrator transformed the photo into a charming book character. The activity book was published as part of an innovative Brush, Book Bed project. These projects have been very successful in the USA and United Kingdom and I wanted to adapt the project to our Australian environment. The main theme is taking a wholistic approach to linking children’s bedtime routines, including night-time toothbrushing, followed by book reading in bed.
16. If the Fluoride Fairy met the Tooth Fairy, what do you think they would talk about?
At the moment, I think they would be talking about the cost-of-living pressures and the TFI (Tooth Fairy Index). Every year since 1998, Delta Dental in America has conducted the Original Tooth Fairy Poll as a fun way to gauge how generous the Tooth Fairy had been in the previous year. The poll collects Tooth Fairy average payouts for sparkling clean baby teeth and compares it to stock market to show how the value of a lost tooth relates to the economy.
They will also be planning activities for National Tooth Fairy Day on 22 August, so let’s join them in this wonderful celebration of childhood and share some Fluoride Magic!
