February is upon us and in honor of National Children’s Dental Health Month and Black History Month, we bring you EVERYONE SMILES! co-authored by Tufts University’s own School of Dental Medicine student Gary L. Kersey. The book showcases the diversity of smiles and takes children through a step-by-step guide on brushing, flossing, and rinsing. From a historic standpoint Gary L. Kersey is the first and youngest African-American to publish a book of this kind.

Advocating that the power of the smile touches each and every culture around the globe, in addition to the easy-to-learn dental health lesson for kids, this book includes pediatric diversity in the form of age, race, gender and both mental and physical disabilities. – Ambassador International Publishing

Gary L. Kersey - photo: Tim J. Kim (TUSDM '18)

“Everyone Smiles hits the literary market at a time when lack of access to affordable dental care, is causing residual effects and detrimental impacts on the general health of low-income Americans, especially in children. Tooth decay is the most common chronic illness among school-age children, yet it is almost entirely preventable. Furthermore, the rate among low-income children is more than twice that for children with more income (31% versus 14%). Ironically, Medicaid and CHIP cover comprehensive dental benefits for children, but 30% of children with private health insurance are uninsured for dental care. (These dental statistics are sourced from the Kaiser Family Foundation).” – Gary L. Kersey, Jr.

A copy of EVERYONE SMILES! can be found at the new books display on the 4th floor of the Sackler Building.