This is Sunny HardGummy. He's a 6 year old color-changing gumball!

When he's sad, he turns blue.

When he's angry, he turns red.

When he's scared or confused, he turns white.

But when he's happy, he turns yellow. Nothing made him more happier and more yellow than junk food because Sunny loved junk food!

When he's shy, he turns pink.

Sunny loved all kinds of potato chips.

He loved sweet, sour, and hard chewy candies.

And he loved sweet, bubbly sodas.

Sunny loved just about any sour and fizzy snack and sugary and sweet drinks! He said, "It makes me smile more than anything in the world BUT there’s nothing I hate more than brushing my teeth!"

"It’s too much work! Mom and Dad keep saying 'don’t eat this, this or this' and 'to brush and floss' and blah, blah, BLAH! It’s annoying," Sunny huffed, turning red.

"I’ll never brush my teeth again," Sunny added in a fit of anger. "I'll keep eating whatever I want, whenever I want!"

So he ate and ate and ate until late that night. No brushing or flossing was done. He happily went to bed, a bag of chips in one hand and a bag of jelly beans in the other.

The next morning, Sunny woke up with a stretch. The first thing he noticed was a wiggle in his mouth.

“That’s weird. I don’t remember this happening last night,” he said, rubbing his cheeks and turning white. "Well, if I can still eat my snacks, it doesn’t matter!”

Sunny soon realized that it did matter. Everything he ate made his teeth hurt and wiggle but he didn’t know why.

He tried some of his yummy gummy bears.

He crunched on his salty barbecue chips.

"My teeth!"

"Ouch!"

He sipped on his soda but couldn't say anything.

Sunny's mouth hurt too much!

Sunny couldn’t eat any of his favorite snacks! He turned blue and started to cry. "Mom! ! I tried to eat my gummy bears and my chips and I wanted to drink my soda but my mouth won’t let me!”

“It’s okay, let’s just see what’s wrong! Open your mouth, Sunny," said Sunny's mom.

He opened his mouth and wiggled his tooth. His mom gasped, "That doesn't look too good, Sunny. I think it's time to go to the dentist."

What's wrong with Sunny's teeth?

“No! I’ll be fine. I don’t need to go," declared Sunny. He shook his head too. He knew he should go but he was scared. He didn't know what they were going to do to his mouth. What if they took out all of his teeth!?

"They don't have to do anything. They can just look. Is that okay with you?"

Sunny slowly nodded at that. Talking hurt his mouth.

Days went by and Sunny still couldn't eat his favorite snacks. His teeth kept hurting and wiggling. He didn't want to smile and he didn't want to play. He was blue inside and out. Sunny wanted to fix his teeth already but he hated the thought of going to the dentist.

It wasn't until he was already at the dental office. He realized that it was too late to turn back. They were going to take out his teeth!

Sunny's heart was beating crazy fast the entire time. He didn’t notice himself turning white again or sitting on the dentist's chair until a friendly-looking gumball in a lab coat greeted him.

“Hello, Sunny! I’ll be your dentist today. Is it okay if I look in your mouth? I just want to see how I can help you," said the dentist.

Sunny opened his mouth and the dentist nodded slowly, “Just what I thought! You have the case of the Wiggles and a couple of bad sugar bugs in there.”

Sunny turned even whiter, “The Wiggles? Sugar bugs? What's wrong with my teeth? Are you going to take my teeth out?”

His dentist let out a laugh.“Those are all good questions, Sunny! Let's dive deeper and then we can tell you what your teeth need!"

The dentist asked, "Have any of your teeth started to wiggle, Sunny?”

Sunny pointed to his mouth in surprise and said, "Yeah, this one in the front started wiggling. Is that a part of the sugar bugs?”

“Those wiggles are the first signs of your mouth growing up, Sunny! As you grow up, your baby teeth will start to wiggle and fall out for the big boy teeth inside your gums to grow out into your mouth. Your big boy teeth are special because they stay forever. There's only one of each tooth so you have to take really good care of them. When sugar bugs are introduced to your teeth, they can be very dangerous for them."

Sunny turned white. "Dangerous how, Mr. Dentist?"

The dentist said, "Think of it like this: Sugar bugs are just stubborn, hungry little bugs that stick inside your mouth because they love eating your teeth!"

"Wait, they eat teeth?" Sunny's eyes popped out of their sockets.

"You can't see it happening but they are eating your teeth very slowly. If you wait too long, you'll see holes and stains in your teeth but if we take action now, we can stop them from hurting the rest of your teeth!” the dentist announced with confidence.

“Here, take a look in your mouth again.” He handed Sunny a mirror. With one look, he found the big and ugly looking holes and yellow gunk lining his teeth and he frowned.

“You see that yellow-ish stuff on your teeth? Those are the sugar bug babies that eat your teeth! We adults call them plaque. This plaque eats through and creates the icky dark spots you see in your teeth called cavities. If certain foods or germs are left in our mouth, gums, and teeth without proper care, the sugar bugs will keep growing.”

“What kind of foods and proper care are we talking about, Mr. Dentist?”

Sunny was scared of the answer.

"The best way to protect your teeth and stop cavities is to brush and floss every day! Our toothbrushes and floss work hard to chase out the sugar bugs. We should do the same and watch how much we eat of our favorite snacks! Because, as sad as it is, sugar bugs LOVE eating sugary foods and drinks like candy, desserts, and soda to grow in your mouth!"

Sunny gasped, "But I love sugary snacks and sugary drinks too! What should I do?"

" Do what your parents tell you to, Sunny! If you brush, floss, and eat smaller amounts of your favorite snacks, you and your teeth will be happier!"

"But what about my sugar bugs and cavities or my wiggly teeth? I don't think flossing and brushing will save them now," Sunny cried.