You might gaze into a clear evening sky, and contemplating the myriad shimmering stars, wonder if we’re alone in the universe. Having long ago memorized the scripts of all of the Star Wars trilogy, my son Tristan assures me we are not. Likewise, as February approaches you might gaze into a dental journal, and contemplating the myriad shimmering points of information, wonder if National Children’s Dental Health Month is alone in the promotional universe. Having just the other night riffled through the pages of Chase’s Calendar of Events, I can definitely assure you that it is not.

Chase’s is a hefty volume listing more than 10,000 events (and pseudo-events) around the country during a given year. February is a restless month, ushering in Carnival, Mardi Gras and Fasnacht, those festivals that signal the beginning of Lent. It is also a very busy season for advocating causes. Besides children’s dental health the month belongs to a horde of other valuable commemorations: February is American Heart Month, Age-Related Macular Degeneration Month, Marfan Syndrome Awareness Month, and National Fiber Focus Month. There are also important non-bodily celebrations: February is National Snack Food Month, National Wild Bird Feeding Month, and Responsible Pet Owner Month. That’s not all. February welcomes Sleep Safety Month, Worldwide Innovation Month, and even Return Shopping Carts to the Supermarket Month.

If your cause is not hefty enough to hold out for a whole month, it can claim a week’s observance. February hosts National Engineers Week, National School Counseling Week, National Future Homemakers of America Hero Week, National Boy Scouts of America Anniversary Week, and National Condom Week. The month also harbors a multitude of important days. Groundhog Day (February 2) launches an auspicious collection of fetes, including Weatherperson’s Day, National Hangover Awareness Day, and Spay Day USA.

The birthdays of Washington, Lincoln, and Martin Luther King, Jr., land on this month, as does the presumed birthday of Frederick Douglass. Just before Valentine’s Day, on February 14, is a saint’s day all for dentistry, that of St. Apollonia, February 9. February 21 honors the first woman to graduate from dental school (Dr. Lucy Hobbs, Class of 1866). Since 1919, the Grand Canyon celebrates its anniversary as a national park on February 26. Additionally, February recognizes Read To Your Child Day, Race Relations Day, National Have a Heart Day, Student Volunteer Day, Floral Design Day, World Marriage Day, Clean Out Your Computer Day (February 12, in case you wanted to mark your calendar), and Get a Different Name Day.

Dentistry’s interests aren’t relegated to February alone. National Smile Week kicks off the month of August. October—which, incidentally, also stands guard over Campaign For Healthier Babies Month, Co-op Awareness Month, Family History Month, National Dessert Month, National Kitchen and Bath Month, and Spinal Health Month, as well as toasting the likes of pizza, popcorn and pork—is home to both National Dental Hygiene Month and National Orthodontic Health Month.

But February comes just after the new year, when resolutions are still fresh and hopes high. The air is brisk, and the shopping carts are heading back to the parking lots. National Children’s Dental Health Month has a lot of fast-paced competitors, including, interestingly, National Snack Food Week, but how many can we be as proud of?

Happy National Children’s Dental Health Month. Let’s get out there and claim our market share.

From Inscriptions, Journal of the Arizona Dental Association, 11(8):5, February 1998.  Dr. Eric Curtis is author of Hand to Mouth: Essays on the Art of Dentistry, Quintessence, 2002.

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