Pennsylvania Dental Association Announces Winners of Annual Statewide Third-Grade Student Poster Contest

HARRISBURG, Pa., April 4, 2018 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Third-grader Ruth Young of St. Nicholas - St. Mary's school in Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County will receive a $500 prize for winning first place in the Pennsylvania Dental Association's (PDA) 2018 National Children's Dental Health Month (NCDHM) statewide poster contest.

Ruth's winning poster playfully depicts the Candy Land game with the theme "There are no shortcuts to a beautiful smile!" Ruth's poster shows that you can win the game of good oral health by brushing, flossing and going to the dentist. Ruth will be presented with her framed winning poster and $500 prize by a PDA member dentist at an upcoming school event. Both St. Nicholas ? St. Mary's school and Ruth's teacher, Mrs. Cathy Evans, will also receive prizes of $250 each for being part of first place in PDA's contest.

Our second place winner is Jaxson Lagace from Elk Valley Elementary in Erie County. Jaxson created a colorful and well drawn poster, "Keep your teeth clean and bright like Great White," which shows a small fish brushing the teeth of a great white shark. Jaxson will receive a $250 prize.

"The Dental Things" was the design of Kelvin Gonzalez-Atiles, a third grader from Daniel J. Flood Elementary in Wilkes-Barre, who received third place recognition. In Kelvin's artwork, a large mouth holds all things necessary for good oral health: floss, toothpaste, brushing and rinsing. Kelvin will receive a $100 prize.

The following students were among the statewide Top 10 entries and will receive an Honorable Mention certificate:

• Viacheslav Petrov ? Age 10, J. M. Hill School, East Stroudsburg
• Matthew Quiroz ? Age 8, Smithfield Elementary, East Stroudsburg
• Carlos Longinos ? Age 9, Kistler Elementary, Wilkes-Barre
• Kaila Chung ? Age 9, Wilkes-Barre Academy, Wilkes-Barre
• Amari Collins ? Age 9, Resica Elementary, East Stroudsburg
• Bella Bostidas ? Age 8, Middle Smithfield Elementary, East Stroudsburg
• Amanda Medina ? Age 8, David Kistler Elementary, Wilkes-Barre

The winning posters were selected from more than 125 clever, well-designed entries submitted to the PDA Central Office for judging. The contest was open to third-grade students in any Pennsylvania public, private or charter school. More than 1,500 schools were contacted for participation.

Visit PDA's website at www.padental.org to learn more about NCDHM and other dental health topics.

About the Pennsylvania Dental Association
Founded in 1868, the Pennsylvania Dental Association (PDA) is comprised of approximately 5,500 member dentists. It is a constituency of the American Dental Association (ADA), the largest and oldest national dental society in the world. PDA's mission is to improve the public health, promote the art and science of dentistry and represent the interests of its member dentists and their patients. PDA is the voice of dentistry in Pennsylvania. For more information on PDA, visit our website at www.padental.org.

SOURCE Pennsylvania Dental Association