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

HARRISBURG, Pa., March 31, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Third-grader Evalyn Jai Lewis of Mountain View Elementary in Dauphin County will receive a $500 prize for winning first place in the Pennsylvania Dental Association's (PDA) 2016 National Children's Dental Health Month (NCDHM) statewide poster contest.

Evalyn's winning poster reminded everyone to maintain a vital habit for good oral health, brushing twice a day and flossing daily. The theme for her poster ("Fight Cavities!") focused on daily use of tools like floss, toothbrush and toothpaste. Evalyn will be presented with her framed winning poster and $500 prize by a PDA member dentist at an upcoming school awards assembly. Mountain View Elementary and Evalyn's teacher, Ms. Nicole DeLoia, will also receive prizes of $250 each for being part of first place in PDA's contest.

Our second place winner was Sean Davis from Solomon Plains Elementary in Luzerne County. Sean created a fun Star Wars themed poster, "May the Brush be with You," tying in the ADA's Sugar Wars theme, with toothpaste depicting the good guys fighting off "Darth Chocolate." Sean will receive a $250 prize.

Also using the Sugar Wars theme and adding in some fun candy versus tooth health inspired characters, Eryka Serafin, another third grader from Solomon Plains Elementary, created our third place poster. The message reads "Brush Your Teeth Twice a Day to Win the Sugar Wars." Eryka will receive a $100 prize.

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

• Janna Ali – Age 9, The Wyndcroft School, Pottstown
• Gianna Lambert – Age 9, Octorara Elementary, Gap
• Victoria Lopez – Age 8, Heights Murray Elementary, Wilkes-Barre
• Joey Matla – Age 8, Moore Elementary School, Bath
• Giovanni Poloni – Age 8, Good Shepherd Catholic School, Northampton
• Farrah Sheehan – Age 9, Swiftwater Elementary Center, Swiftwater
• Audrey Zimmerman –Age 9, Our Lady's Christian School, Erie

The winning posters were selected from nearly 143 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 6,000 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