The message Eraso and the dozen other members of the outreach team take to kids and their parents at festivals, fairs, rodeos, and summer sports camps around the state is educational—basic training on brushing and flossing and information about why it’s important to visit a dentist. But the mission extends to self-esteem building. Lindsay Frey, who runs community outreach for the Anniston and Talladega clinics, tells me that at the summer programs, when she gets to spend more time with the kids, “I try to be a mentor not just about their teeth. Telling them that they’re great at coloring might be the only good thing they heard about themselves that day.”