Pa. dental association announces kids' poster contest winners

The Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) has announced the winners of its 2011 National Children's Dental Health Month statewide poster contest.

First-prize winner Bailey Ritchey will receive a $1,000 educational bond. Her winning poster, "Keep Your Choppers Clean," depicts a beaver brushing its "choppers" with a toothbrush made from a tree branch.

Ritchey is a third-grade student at Burchfield Primary School in Allegheny County. Her poster will be reproduced as bookmarks, which will be distributed to all of Pennsylvania's public libraries.

In addition to Ritchey's prize, Burchfield Primary School and her school nurse, Audrey Gaskill, will each receive a $250 prize for participating in PDA's contest.

"Find a Healthy Smile by Brushing Twice a Day" was the theme of second-place winner Thalia Irofuala's poster. Irofuala, a third-grade student at Smithfield Elementary in Monroe County, drew a picture of a bright-eyed doll holding a toothbrush and toothpaste. She will receive a $500 educational savings bond.

Third-place winner Olivia Roback chose "Brush But Don't Rush" as the theme for her poster, a self-portrait in which she is seen brushing angry cavities from her teeth. Roback, a third-grader at St. Margaret Mary School in Dauphin County, will receive a $250 educational savings bond.

The contest, which was open to third-grade students in any Pennsylvania public, private, or charter school attracted an estimated 20,000 participants.