Plaque Monster!

"Can you do me a favor, Papa?" Gabi asked as I picked him up from school this lunch time.

"Sure, Gabi," I said, already expecting a request to pass by his favorite fast food chain for chicken, fries and rice.

"Can you please stop drinking Coke Light?" was his surprising reply. "And I will stop eating candy."

"Why?" I asked, now truly curious.

"Because the Plaque Monster will go inside our mouth and make a hole in our teeth!"

Turns out that a lady dentist visited the school today to talk about proper oral hygiene. She was invited as part of the class' month long series on people in the community.

And obviously, her scare tactics worked.

"Please, Papa, I don't want that to happen to us," Gabi pleaded some more, the fear in his voice seemed real.

"Yes, anak, we will try," was my attempt to reassure him. "we will really try."

Gabi then handed me a small package. Inside was a toothbrush, two sachets of toothpaste and the flyer and calling card of the lady dentist.

Now that's what I call direct marketing.