Community and Services FAQ
Community Members give awards to other members in recognition of their effort to teach and inspire children to have better health, along with oral health. Members search our member directory to give awards from their member dashboard.
StarSmilez site visitors search practice listings to help them find oral health services in their area. StarSmilez customers, including parents, come to StarSmilez to get health content that matches their oral health needs. You can list your practice for free with your NPI number.
Community members are people interested in children’s oral health, including health professionals, teachers, parents, and truly anyone looking for a place where oral health content is the central theme.
StarSmilez created the original plush oral health educators more than three decades ago to help health professionals get kid’s attention when sharing oral health and dental care advice. At the time no one, could have appreciated just how broad an impact we would have over the next 30 years, helping to educate over 50 million children since we began.
We’ve been incredibly fortunate, entertaining young audiences in hundreds of countries worldwide with a long list of awesome people and organizations, reaching millions of children each year to improve their health, knowledge, and ultimately their lives.
Like all success stories, we didn’t do it alone as our enthusiastic customers have allowed us to continue to refine our products and better meet their needs. With their support our small, family owned brand continues to grow and serve both health professionals and parents all over the world. We’ve been a key part of educational initiatives and presentations lead by companies and organizations including Colgate-Palmolive, Trident, Harvard University, UCLA, NYU, UNC Chapel Hill, The Special Olympics, The Rachel Ray Show, and Barney and Friends just to name a few.
Celebrities and thought leaders including US Surgeon General Antonia Novello, actor Colin Farrell, The Imperial Princess of Japan, actress Jennie Garth, and Joan Lunden have used and been featured with StarSmilez while communicating their oral health messages.
We are honored to be part of the work of our Giving Partners that serve disadvantaged populations all over the world, improving their overall health. You can check out some of their inspiring stories on our oral health blog.
StarSmilez gives to health charities that share our mission to improve children’s oral health and we’re into taking some roads less traveled which makes it quite a bit of fun while truly making some lives better that we couldn’t have reached otherwise.
Read through our Giving Community section and complete our Giving Partner form to tell us about your organization. We receive many requests, so we can’t promise you we can help you, but we will give your submission proper consideration.
StarSmilez is a brand name owned by a for-profit corporation but has been giving to oral health causes for more than 30 years through our mission to educate and improve the lives of children the world over. Our customers play a critical role, allowing us to sustain our giving to organizations that share our mission.
Kids Oral Health FAQ
Dental X-rays pose very little risk and dentists use lead aprons and high-speed files to minimize the amount of radiation.
Mouthguards can protect your child’s teeth as well as the other parts of their mount from sport related injuries. A Custom-fitted mouthguard is best but even a generic fit is better than no mouthguard at all.
A broken / chipped tooth, or really any dental issue that is causing pain should prompt you to seek the assistance of a professional.
Rinse the irritated area with warm salt water and place a cold compress on the facial area if it is swollen. You will need to contact a dentist to help you.
Sealants fill the crevasses on the chewing surfaces of your child’s teeth. This prevents some food particles from getting caught on the teeth, causing cavities. Sealants can protect teeth for many years, plus they are easy for dentists to apply so they are worth considering. They work especially well for molar surfaces.
The proper time period between dental checkups will be driven both by your child’s health condition and to some degree their genetics which is why it is best to find a dentist that you can trust and ask them to recommend a proper interval for dental checkups.
A pediatric dentist has several years of specialty training in addition to completing dental school. At the end of the day, you have to decide which health professionals are best suited to your and your child’s circumstance.
Look for a toothbrush for your child’s age group as these will have softer bristles and are smaller to fit a child’s mouth. When choosing a toothpaste, be sure to give consideration to whether it contains fluoride that your child may need. Use only a small amount of toothpaste. To the age of three an amount about the size of a grain of rice is recommended and then a pea size amount only until they are able to rise and spit on their own.
You might assume that a dark spot on a tooth is decay and you could be correct but the only way for you to be sure is to take your child to a dentist for evaluation.
It really depends on how thorough you want to be and the guidelines vary, depending on who you ask. Many dentists believe It is a good idea to see a dentist when the first tooth appears which should be somewhere around their first birthday. Some physicians recommend children have their first dental visit by the age of three but keep in mind many of these physicians are evaluating a child’s teeth during their well child visits.
Fluoride supplies tooth enamel with important nutrients and minerals. Toothpaste and mouthwashes often contain fluoride, but also your communities’ water supply may also contain fluoride so you will need to consider where your child is getting fluoride and consult your dentist about what levels are best for your child. Too much fluoride can cause Fluorosis where white or brown marks appear on the surface or your child’s teeth. While fluorosis isn’t dangerous, it is a signal that you can reduce the amount of fluoride your child is getting.
Primary or “baby teeth” are important, helping children speak clearly, chew food, and they help form the pathways where permanent teeth will emerge. Cavities in baby teeth can cause pain and swelling. Oral infections can cause serious health problems if left untreated.
Feed your child a balanced diet, and limit the servings of sugars and starches to help protect their teeth from decay.
Any soft-bristled toothbrush with a small head can be used to remove plaque bacteria. It is best to use a brushed designed for infants and you should use it at least once a day, preferably at bedtime.
You can start caring for your baby’s gums from the very start. But with a moistened washcloth or a piece of gauze. Gently wipe your baby’s gums at least a couple times a day but especially after feedings and before bedtime to remove bacteria. When baby teeth first appear you can change to a toothbrush with a soft bristle, small head, and large handle.
Products FAQ
StarSmilez should be gently hand washed only with a mild detergent and allowed to air dry. DO NOT attempt to machine wash.
We can only accept returns for products purchased on StarSmilez.com. Please contact the retailer where you purchased the product for information on their return policy.
Yes we accept purchase orders from state and federal government organizations including schools and public health offices. You can email your PO to smilecare@starsmilez.com or sent it by fax to 352.332.1828
The Community extends the scope of our products with educational content and resources embedded in the oral health community to assist oral health educators with their messaging and teaching strategies. Parents can also benefit from the community when searching for dental services and training in their local area.
We guarantee our products to be free from material defect upon arrival to you. We strive to create the very best products possible at a price point that is reasonable. Because many of our items are used frequently and sometimes handled multiple times per day it is impossible for us to have a longer term warranty period.
Once your order ships, you will receive an email, sent to the email address you entered when you placed your order. If you are concerned about the status of your order please contact us to inquire about your order status. Please use our contact form here and include your order number in your message.