Hurleyville—February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, a great time to shine a light on PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program (PRASAD CDHP) and its elephant mascot, Elliott T. Sparkle.

In 1996, PRASAD CDHP held a “Name the Elephant” contest for local elementary school children. The winner, Danielle DeLorenzo was just 7 years old at the time. She’s 21 now, but she remembers exactly how she came up with the winning name: “I was thinking, ‘Elly the Elephant,’ but he was dressed like a boy, so I named him Elliott and the T was for Teeth – Elliott’s Teeth Sparkle, and that’s how I named him. I was so excited to win!”

Elliott is proud to have his picture on the mobile clinic that PRASAD CDHP uses to bring dental services to children at their schools in the rural, areas of Sullivan and Ulster counties, in New York State. Since 1996, this unique program has delivered dental services and education to more than 55,000 children, and Elliott has been always been a loyal friend. He leads parades, visits special events and does all he can to promote the program and encourage children to take good care of their teeth.

Elliott is a fun-filled character, but he knows how serious his mission is; In the US, students lose an estimated 51 million school hours annually because of dental-related illness. Untreated, dental problems can cause persistent pain, infections, inability to eat and low self-esteem.

While yearly dental check-ups are essential, Elliott knows some simple steps that we can take every day to improve our oral health: • Brush at least twice a day and floss daily • Eat a healthy diet and limit starchy or sugary food • See your dentist twice a year PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program, a philanthropic expression of the SYDA Foundation, provides dental care services and dental health education to children in Sullivan and Ulster counties. For more information, visit us at www.prasadcdhp.org or call 845-434-0376.

Danielle DeLorenzo was just 7 when she named the mascot of PRASAD Children’s Dental Health Program. Elliott does all he can to encourage children to take care of their teeth.