'Wizard' visits Huntley school during Children's Dental Health Month

Family dentist Dr. Timothy Stirneman, of All Smiles Dental in Algonquin, presented his 22nd annual "Wizard of Teeth" short play to students at Learning Tree in Huntley Wednesday. The 10-minute play, written by Stirneman, is a spoof on the "Wizard of Oz" in which he plays the wizard who shows there's nothing to be scared about when visiting the dentist.

February is National Childrens Dental Health Month and Stirneman and his cast of characters will be performing and answering questions to more than 1,200 children at several schools in Kane and surrounding counties this month. They had six performances scheduled Wednesday. He says over the past 20 years, they estimated they have reached approximately 30,000 children.

His favorite portion of the program is the question and answer session after the presentation.

"The purpose was really to show and answer a lot of questions kids had about going to the dentist," he said.

So he gave the characters dental issues that kids are commonly concerned about when they first visit the dentist. The Cowardly Lion needs a tooth pulled, the Scarecrow needs an X-ray, and the Tin Woman needs fluoride and vitamins for her teeth. And Dorothy is "just a little girl from Algonquin who wants her teeth cleaned," the dentist said.

"It's just so much fun to see the kids - they're just so mesmerized by the characters. Especially little kids like this," Stirneman says of the 3- to 5-year-olds.

He says it's when he's told by parents that after their child has seen the play and that they are excited to visit the dentist, that's what he considers the biggest reward.

"That's what fun. That's why we keep doing this," Stirneman said.