Meet the ‘tooth fairy,’ the disturbing, rejected face of dental care

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OTTAWA — She smiles. She has wings. And she might be ready to guide you to your eternal resting place.

Meet the “Tooth Fairy,” who was once considered the possible face of the Canadian Dental Care Plan.

While Health Canada opted for a different approach to market its nearly $2 billion program, her visage — and the concerns she caused — are contained in a consultation document, based on various options the department showed to focus groups as it considered the best way to advertise the new benefit.

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Launching a national dental care program for lower-income households has been a flagship policy of the Liberal government’s latest term in office, and was a result of the political partnership it struck with the federal NDP, which had pushed for a government program to be created.

Applications opened to seniors last spring. Before the program launched, Health Canada hired a marketing research firm for around $145,000 to show some options for promoting the program. One such idea included having a life-size “Tooth Fairy” visit them to spread the word.

In one poster, a winged-woman dressed in white stands between two smiling seniors, with the tagline: “The Tooth Fairy is now visiting seniors, too.”

Participants were shown a video where she gets her steps in, sporting a more casual look of a zip-up top and slacks to join a blind man and his dog for a walk. In another scene, the human-sized fairy sips tea and knits around a table of seniors.

She ends her visit by stopping in to see a family where she joins the household’s children on the floor for some drawing time. As the scene ends with the kids holding up their masterpieces of a butterfly and rainbow, the “Tooth Fairy” has meanwhile drawn one that says “Income under $90,000,” referring to the threshold of accessing free government dental care.

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While some felt the concept might work for kids, many others left unimpressed by the woman in white.

“It’s like you’re talking to a two-year-old, because of the tooth fairy,” said one participant from Ontario. “It’s patronizing.”

“It grabs your attention, but I am not a fan of the tooth fairy. It felt a bit childish and insulting. I did not relate to it. It grabbed my attention but to criticize it.”

Besides the fact some seniors and other adults “felt that they were being infantilized” by the image of being visited by a tooth fairy, the report also noted a bigger problem.

Turns out her appearance resembled the likeness of another otherworldly figure.

“Others felt the imagery of a tooth fairy walking in between seniors was reminiscent of an angel walking with older people close to death.”

In case participants’ concerns were rooted in her magical appearance, an “alternative tooth fairy,” was also pitched. Instead of wings, she wore dental scrubs. And to ensure Canadians still knew who she was, she sported a name tag which said, naturally, “Tooth Fairy.”

But it turns out professional attire did not help.

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“Doesn’t look all that different – just no wings,” some parents from Atlantic Canada said.

“The first one (fairy) was more annoying but it will stick in my head during the day, and I will remember that dental care is important,” another participant said.

A spokesman for Health Canada said it spent around $53,000 developing different concepts to market the program.

The department said the tooth fairy was just one option proposed.

“Health Canada did not proceed with that concept and will not use that image in any marketing or advertising,” wrote spokesman Mark Johnson.

The department also tested different taglines to promote the program, including “something to smile about,” “better care, brighter smile” and “healthy smile, healthy you.”

It ultimately settled on “Accessible. Affordable. Essential.” However, the report cautioned that meant the program would need to deliver.

“It is a strong promise that creates high expectations about the plan.”

The federal Tories have panned the program as ineffective, while the Liberals say millions have taken part. How much longer Ottawa will be promoting a national dental care program remains to be seen, given the likelihood of Canadians going to a general election this spring.

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Opposition Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, who all polls suggest is cruising towards forming a majority government should an election be called, has not yet answered whether he would maintain or continue expanding the program.

Matthew Kronberg, a spokesman for Health Minister Mark Holland, said the date for expanding it to millions more of the general public “will be communicated soon.” It is currently accessible to seniors above 65, adults with a disability tax credit and those under 18.

“So far, more than 3 million Canadians have been approved to receive dental coverage and over 1.3 million people have gotten care.

National Post

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