In 1973, cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko developed a toothache while on a 96-day mission to the International Space Station. His tooth caused him so much pain that it was near impossible for him to complete his mission. It’s clear that everyone can benefit from good oral health, including astronauts!

That’s why Delta Dental of Wisconsin is a proud major sponsor of Dream Flight USA, a space shuttle education mission that travels to Wisconsin schools to take student smiles to infinity and beyond.

Dream Flight gets children engaged in science, technology, engineering, and math. The program docks a mock space shuttle at elementary schools. Students complete hands-on workstations that challenge their critical and analytical thinking skills.

A Delta Dental sponsored workstation stresses the importance of children’s health and proper dental hygiene by having students assemble a tooth- and space-friendly lunch for their fellow astronauts. The hope is that future astronauts and scientists will not have the same oral health issues as Romanenko did in 1973.

Nick Ryan, executive director of Dream Flight, said, “So many students – hundreds a year – have been able to experience the hands-on learning delivered by the STEM Shuttle because of Delta Dental of Wisconsin’s support. Delta Dental provides funding for several shuttle missions a year to schools that don’t have money in their budgets for enrichment programs. Because of Delta Dental’s support, we have also been able to keep our fees down, making the STEM Shuttle more affordable for other schools.”

Here’s to many more years of healthy students reaching for the stars!