By JOYANNA LOVE/ Senior Staff Writer

The Oral Health Office of the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) is celebrating smiles with a photo contest to find the third-grade students with the best smiles in Alabama.

The “Share Your Smile with Alabama” campaign will select the boy and girl with the best smile out of photos submitted between Nov. 7-28.

Parents can submit photos at alabamapublichealth.gov/oralhealth/contest.html.

According to a press release from ADPH, the winners will be featured in a live news conference from Montgomery and “in ADPH marketing campaigns to promote children’s oral health in the state.”

The marketing campaigns will support the ADPH’s mission of “preventing dental disease for Alabama’s citizens by promoting and developing quality, cost-effective community and school-based preventive, educational and early treatment programs which emphasize elimination of oral health disparities.”

“Teaching children to develop the habit of brushing and flossing, along with regular dental visits, helps them keep healthy smiles,” “State Dental Health Director Dr. Tommy Johnson said. “We are sponsoring the contest again this year to bring attention to the need for children’s oral health care and to remind everyone that dental decay is preventable.”

Winners will also receive a gift basket.

A panel of judges will narrow down submissions to the top six before selecting the two grand prize winners.

“Winning the ‘Share Your Smile’ contest was AMAZING!” one of last year’s winners, Kerrigan Benn of Jacksonville said in therelease. “I have been on stage in plays before, but the live news conference and seeing myself on posters everywhere was the best thing ever! Your smile is one of the first things people see, and it is so important!”

Winners of this year’s contest will be announced on Jan 8, 2019.