Calling all third graders: Enter the Tenth Annual ‘Share Your Smile with Alabama’ photo contest

The Tenth Annual “Share Your Smile with Alabama” photo contest, sponsored by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) Oral Health Office, promotes oral health by featuring photographs of third-grade students smiling. Promotions featuring their photos will be highlighted during February, National Children’s Dental Health Month. No entry fees are charged for the contest.

The competition is open to third-grade students living in Alabama.

For official rules and an application form:

• Go to https://www.alabamapublichealth.gov/oralhealth/contest.html
• Entries will be accepted through November 13, 2026.

The ADPH Oral Health Office endorses the benefits of preventive dental visits for children, encourages community water fluoridation, and promotes the HPV vaccine, which the Food and Drug Administration has approved for children beginning at age 9.

One girl and one boy will be selected as winners from the submitted photos. The pair will be highlighted in marketing campaigns promoting children’s oral health and featured at a statewide news conference on January 7, 2027.

State Dental Director Dr. Tommy Johnson said, “We sponsor this contest each year to raise awareness of the need for children’s oral health care and for developing healthy oral health habits.”

The ADPH Oral Health Office is dedicated to preventing dental disease among Alabama's citizens by promoting and developing high-quality, cost-effective community- and school-based preventive, educational, and early treatment programs that emphasize the elimination of oral health disparities.