Newtown Smile Dentistry and Newtown Pediatric and Special Needs Dentistry recently held its first annual art contest for Newtown students from pre-K to grade 12 and celebrated the four winners during a small gathering on Wednesday, October 30.

Newtown students from any of the local schools could submit their own art to the contest, with the winners being selected from four different age sections: elementary, intermediate, middle school, and high school.

The four winners were St Rose of Lima School third grader Robert Belanger with “Sunrise,” St Rose fifth grader Riley McRuiz with “Bunny in the Spring,” St Rose eighth grader Siobhan Hall with “The Tooth Garden,” and Newtown High School eleventh grader Jerimiah Stone with “Yule.”

Winning students were each awarded a scholarship check by Newtown Smile owner Dr Sean Lee, DDS, during the event, and will have their artwork on display in the facility’s lobby for several weeks. Every student that had entries was chosen to have their pieces featured and compiled into a special Newtown Smile Calendar for 2025, which will be given out at a later date to the students and to the community.

Students who did not win the contest still have their submissions shown off in some capacity. Their artwork is displayed on a digital art frame screen hanging on one of the walls in the waiting area, rotating between all the submissions from students who submitted artwork but did not win the contest.

This is all to honor and recognize the talent and creativity of local students and artists in the community. According to Lee, the idea for the contest came from his wife TK, who is an officer coordinator at Newtown Smile. TK is also an artist who specializes in abstract art, but also works with watercolors, acrylic paint, and more. She wanted to make a calendar and distribute it to different places in the community, such as senior centers and special needs clinics.

“And then there came an idea where it was like, ‘Why don’t we get other young artists involved?’” Lee explained to attendees Wednesday evening.

It is that shared passion for art that made Lee and TK want to highlight local artists and give them an opportunity to show their creativity. Students and families only had two to three weeks to create and submit something for the contest. However, Lee said that the turnout was great despite the short notice, and that the support they received was “phenomenal.” Lee also said that they also want to provide scholarship opportunities for the community as well in the distant future. For now, he and TK said that they are very excited and “can’t wait” to make the Newtown Smile Calendar for 2025.

This year’s art contest is only the first of many to come for Newtown Smile. Lee said that they plan to hold the contest on an annual basis, and is excited to see local artists submit their pieces in the future.

“I just hope that everyone enjoyed their time, and that it was really, really fun for them,” Lee said. “We have four winners, but I think everybody is a winner.”

The contest is another milestone for Newtown Smile, who relocated into their new facility at 27 Church Hill Road earlier this spring. The move is when they also separately established Newtown Pediatric and Special Needs Dentistry, a specialty practice dedicated to serving young patients with special needs.

Lee said that one of the biggest reasons why they moved locations is that he realized during his dentist training that people with special needs “really had no place to go” for dental care. To have a facility that could match that need in the community, he added, was a huge driving force.

Now Lee says that the facility he always wanted has come to reality, and that he and his staff are all living the dream.

“The support has been very overwhelming, and we’re very, very thankful and blessed from the community,” Lee continued. “The art contest has been very awesome, not just when it comes to turnout, but to see all the kids smile and be so excited ... it’s what we’re here for.”

For more information about Newtown Smile, visit newtownsmile.com, or find them on Facebook (Newtown Smile Dentistry) or Instagram (newtownsmile).

Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.