THIS morning little Belle woke up with a toothache.

“That’s because you don’t care them,” mum frowned, looking at the girl with concern. “Without proper oral hygiene, they might develop Destructive Caries one day! And then, the hapless Defenders of Twenty White Castles — the Knights of Cleanliness - are unlikely to take over the Dangerous Decoys…”

Though “Knights of Cleanliness” and “Dangerous decoys” stirred her curiosity, the stubborn girl was in no mood to listen to her mother. She stubbornly bit her lip and left for her room.

“Who are they, the Defenders? And Dangerous Decoys?” she murmured. She opened her mouth and thoroughly inspected her teeth for the presence of mysterious fighters, but saw nothing.

“Tall tales!” Belle shrugged off her disappointment, curled into a small ball on her bed and fell asleep.

In the meantime, the brave Defenders were fiercely fighting to protect the Twenty White Castles. After all, it was their sacred duty to ensure their health and whiteness, but, unfortunately, the Decoys were too many this time. Ah, if only the little Belle had been brushing her teeth regularly! The Decoys were advancing now, forcing the Knights of Cleanliness to retreat.

“Belle, please help us!” shouted one of the Defender desperately. The valiant Knights were disappearing one after the other, and eventually, dirt and odour spread everywhere. The Decoys were winning!

Little Belle awakened as the irritating toothache returned with a new force. The girl rushed into the bathroom, picked a toothbrush, squeezed some toothpaste on it and realised she had forgotten how to clean her teeth.

“Do you need help?” Of course, the soft kind voice could belong to none other than the Tooth Fairy!

“Dear Fairy!” brightened little Belle. “Yes! Please, teach me to properly brush my teeth, so that they always remain healthy and white!”

The fairy waved her hand, and next moment a tiny tooth replica lay shining on her palm. “This is our tooth; it consists of a crown, neck and root. The root is hidden in bone, the neck is implanted into the gum, and like an iceberg only a portion of our tooth — crown — is visible. Our task is to keep it impeccably clean and plaque-free.”

“To properly clean your teeth, use short, gentle strokes, paying extra attention to the hard-to-reach back teeth. Gently brush the outside, inside and chewing surface of each tooth, using short back-and-forth strokes. Do not hurry your brushing! Now gently brush your tongue to remove bacteria and freshen your breath. Now rinse your brush well and… No-no, don’t put it back in the case. Store it in a toothbrush holder, head pointed upwards, to keep it dry and hence germ-free.”

As Little Belle was following the instructions, the Decoys were disappearing from her mouth.

“You have to brush your teeth twice a day: in the morning and in the evening, before going to bed. Not less than two minutes, mind you! And you won’t forget about swishing with water between and around your teeth after every meal, will you?”

“I won’t, dear Fairy! But my tooth… it’s still aching…”

“Let me check it out” said the fairy and suddenly — in a blink of an eye — she shrunk to the size of a small gem. Belle’s mouth dropped open in bewilderment and the fairy immediately fly into the girl’s mouth to inspect what was wrong. To her great dismay, she found out that the Knights of Cleanliness couldn’t recapture one of the castles. Now, the Decoys seized complete control of that tooth, and despite the continuous attacks of Defenders, were not ready to surrender.

So the fairy returned with a sad news. “I’m afraid, neither the Knights of Cleanliness, nor your regular brushing can drive them out.”

“What will I do now?!” cried Belle.

“Well, you can ask your mother to take you to the dentist.”

“No! The dentist will have your tooth sprinkled with magical fluid, to ward off the pain. And he has a special brush that can chase away the nastiest of the Decoys. He will then restore the damaged White Castle.”

“Hurray!” clapped little Belle, beaming.

“Good girl! Take care of your teeth well, and one day you’ll have 32 strong snow-white Castles instead of 20.”

“So many?” the girl marvelled.

The Fairy nodded and vanished into thin air.

“Thank you, dear Fairy!” called Belle as she ran out of the room, calling her mum: it was a time to visit the great magician-doctor!