Natalie's Everyday Heroes: Kenosha orthodontist transforms into the tooth fairy to educate on dental health

 

KENOSHA, Wis. (CBS 58) -- A Kenosha orthodontist has been fixing teeth for more than 13 years. But she also has an alter-ego who teaches kids the benefits of good dental health. With just the click of a mouse, Dr. Jane Wright can work magic.

"I can move the teeth into their ideal position," she said. "I love changing people's lives."

She's changing lives by fixing teeth.

"And it's just amazing how much a smile can bring confidence to people," she said with a smile.

She joined her father's practice 13 years ago.

"My grandpa started this practice," she said.

Inspiring a long line of family dentists.

"And then my dad became a general dentist. Then my uncle became a general dentist," Dr. Wright explained.

By her second year in college, she couldn't resist the call of the family business.

"All day long I'm talking to patients about proper brushing, flossing, how to take care of their teeth," she said.

It's a message she considered so important; she takes it out of the office.

"I call them sugar bugs," she said to a room full of 3 and 4-year-olds.

She's taking it into classrooms all over Kenosha County.

"Children will run up and hug me," she said.

On a day CBS 58 was present, she brought her magic to All Saints Catholic School.

"Ok ready? Hold your floss tight," she said during a demonstration.

Teaching kids about flossing, brushing and sugary foods.

"Because the sugar bugs might just lick the sugar off your teeth," said one little girl when she was asked about the importance of brushing.

"Sugar bugs" are what Dr. Wright calls the buildup on teeth that can cause cavities.

Maybe the most magical part is, though, is Dr. Wright's alter ego: the tooth fairy. 

"I'm going to read you, 'The Capture of Clementine'," she said, holding up a book.

Dressed in yellow, with glimmering wings and goggles, Dr. Wright transforms.

"Let me go! Let me go," she reads.

Into Clementine.

"I think we caught the tooth fairy," she exclaimed.

Dr. Wright wrote "The Capture of Clementine."

"It's about a tooth fairy who comes in through the wrong window one night and she's set to collect one of the children's teeth, but instead, twin girls capture her," she explained.

This mother of five said her own children are the inspiration for the story, and she uses the story to educate kids on good dental habits.

"And his tooth flew across the table into a bowl of broccoli," she read.

She says her own kids love being part of the story.

"Sometimes when we're reading it, they're like, that one's me, right? Am I that one? Yeah, that's you," she said.

It's clear the students love it, too.

"They think it's cute," said All Saints principal, Kelly Neu.

Neu said the kids listen to the tooth fairy.

"It's just neat that they hear it from someone else, other than their parents," Neu said.

Dr. Wright has gotten some interesting responses.

"Two little kids pulled out their own teeth and they were running up to me with their teeth in their hand saying do you have a tooth box," she recalled.

And by the time she's handing out toothbrushes at the end, the tooth fairy's spell has worked.

"I brush it in the day after bed and I do it before bed, also," a little girl said about what she learned.

"There's something about having that ah-ha moment in children's eyes. Where you can see they're getting it. It's making sense," Dr. Wright said.

"The Capture of Clementine" is available at Blue House Books in Kenosha, Grandma's Toy Box in Eagle River, and online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble. To learn more about Dr. Wright, CLICK HERE. 

If you'd like to nominate an Everyday Hero, send Natalie a message at [email protected].