Hey kids!  How about coloring a picture of a snowball-throwing toothbrush and a downhill-skiing tube of toothpaste and winning prizes for it?

Here's your chance: February is National Children's Dental Health Month, and to celebrate the Michigan Dental Association and the Michigan Dental Foundation are sponsoring their 17th annual statewide coloring contest.

Beyond good fun, the goal is to help raise awareness of oral health and encourage children to develop good habits to prevent dental problems as they grow up.

Children in kindergarten through sixth grade are eligible and prizes will be awarded for the top two entries in each grade. The first-place prize winner in each grade will receive a $100 U.S. Savings Bond and a goody bag of smaller prizes, while the second-place winner will receive a $50 U.S. Savings Bond and a goody bag. 

There is no cost to participate and no purchase necessary.

Children can use crayons, pencils, markers, paint or even beads and other materials on the special coloring sheet. Download a copy of the coloring contest picture and entry form , or contact your Michigan Dental Association member dentist.

All submissions, including the entrant's original work and a completed entry form, must be postmarked by March 5. Winners will be notified by April 1.

Winning entries will be published in the MDA Journal magazine, displayed on the MDA Web site and exhibited during the MDA's Annual Session for members, to be held in April in Novi.

The Michigan Dental Association is a professional organization representing nearly 6,000 dentist and student members statewide.

The Michigan Dental Foundation is a philanthropic effort to provide dental care programs, oral health initiatives and dental scholarships.