Rankin Inlet (May 12/04) - It was time for students in Rankin Inlet to flash the pearly whites, put down the cans of pop and sharpen their crayons in support of good dental hygiene this past month.

The students took part in a number of activities to mark April as Dental Health Month in Canada.

Dental therapist Faye Souter has been working out of Maani Ulujuk middle school in Rankin for the past two years.

She says young students in the community always look forward to taking part in the annual poster/colouring contest to help recognize the special month.

"We lose the kids for about half the month due to the school break, but we still like to organize as much as we can to promote good dental health in the community," says Souter.

"When the kids work on projects that promote good dental hygiene, hopefully, that gets them thinking more about their own brushing and flossing habits."

In addition to the colouring and poster contests, Rankin youth joined students across Nunavut in the Drop the Pop project, which encouraged Nunavut youth to stay away from their favourite soft drink for a week.

Pulaarvik Kablu Friendship Centre employee Carla Brown-Power organized the Drop the Pop activity in Rankin, which saw students at Maani Ulujuk and Leo Ussak elementary school take part.

"With the schools getting ready to be switched around for the next school year, staff decided the colouring and poster contests, along with the Drop the Pop activity, would be enough for this year.

"The colouring contest was open to anyone who wanted to take part, while the poster contest was exclusive to Grade 5 to 8."

Lots to pick from

Souter says quantity was stressed over quality with the prizes in order to recognize the efforts of students in every grade.

She says prize donations were received from a number of businesses, including the Kissarvik Co-op and the Northern store, which donated $200 worth of toys.

"We had something for each age group and the winners were able to come up and pick out their own prizes.

"The kids really enjoyed that because there was a lot of stuff to pick from, which really excited them."