Page 74 - AWSAR 2.0

50 || AWSAR Awarded Popular Science Stories - 2019
The Story Behind a Beautiful Smile
Dr Sirisha Boddapati*
Email: bsirishakishore@gmail.com
Abig broad smile is beautiful, contagious, and can create wonders! This story, an early-morning conversation between a mother and her child, reveals how precious a smile is.
At 6:30 am on a cold winter morning, the mom goes into her sleeping daughter’s bedroom and slowly coaxes her awake.
Mom: Good morning, baby!
Child (yawning): Good morning, Mom!
Mom: Look, it’s already 6:30. Wake up, wake up! We need to go to school, no? Go and brush your teeth.
Child: Noooo, not again!
(The school-age girl lazily gets out of bed, goes into the bathroom, and squeezes a little toothpaste on her brush. She brushes really quickly and then rinses her mouth.)
Child: Done!
Mom: You haven’t even brushed your teeth for one minute.
Child: Ugh! This is so boring. Why do I need to brush my teeth every day?
Mom: You eat so many candies and chocolates, no? You need to brush your teeth twice a day once after waking up in the morning, and once at night before going to bed so that your teeth don’t become black and get cavities.
Child: Cavities! What are these cavities, Mom? Why don’t you allow me to eat as many chocolates as I like?
Mom: Mouth is home to many bad microorganisms! These have the ability to decay our teeth and thus cause cavities, also known as dental caries. Practicing good oral hygiene, such as brushing our teeth twice
* Dr Sirisha Boddapati, Post Doctoral Fellow from Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, is pursuing her research on “Production and Application of Microbial Mutanase for Prevention and Reduction of Dental Plaques”. Her popular science story entitled “The Story Behind a Beautiful Smile” has been selected for AWSAR Award.