Lisa Wills turned one of the most personal parts of her life into purpose.

Two and a half years ago, Wills was fitted for a partial denture. She could not afford implants, so a partial became her option. Sitting with that reality brought her back to her childhood, remembering the candy, soda, missed brushing, and the fact that she did not see a dentist until she was 18.

By the time she received dental care, the damage was already serious.

While attending Ball State University, Wills began facing the reality of her dental health. With advanced decay and limited money, extraction became the option available to her. Over the years, she tried to preserve her teeth through root canals, crowns, and two bridges on her lower jaw. Both bridges eventually failed, leading her to need a partial denture.

But instead of carrying shame, Wills began thinking about children.

As a teacher, she wondered what might have been different if prevention, education, and consistent care had reached her sooner. Not just being told to brush her teeth, but really being taught why oral health matters.

That is how The Molar Movement™ was born.

Wills has been an educator for 24 years and currently teaches fourth grade math in Indiana. Before entering the classroom, she worked as an adult felony probation officer and with incarcerated youth, experiences that taught her about choices, consequences, and the power of reaching people before problems become harder to undo.

She brought that same mindset into The Molar Movement.

Although Wills is not a dentist, she immersed herself in dental research, studying tooth anatomy, decay, inflammation, abscesses, oral disease, prevention, X-rays, and what happens inside the mouth. Then she did what she has done for more than two decades: she made the information visual, hands-on, and easier for children to understand.

That work also led her to become known as The Molar Mentor.

The Molar Movement is built around three words: Prevention. Dignity. Voice. Through the program, students learn more than brushing and flossing. They study enamel, dentin, pulp, plaque, cavities, gum health, inflammation, abscessed teeth, sugar, and decay.

They also examine basic dental X-rays, use a molar mirror to evaluate their own mouths, and practice brushing and flossing on models.

Most importantly, Wills teaches children how to ask questions. She wants students to feel confident enough to sit in a dental chair and ask, “What do you see on my X-ray?” “What are you doing to my tooth?” and “What can I do to prevent this from happening again?”

On April 9, 2026, Wills graduated nearly 100 fourth graders as Junior Molar Mentors, giving them knowledge they could use and take home to their families.

Now, The Molar Movement has expanded beyond her classroom. According to WISH-TV, Wills’ work is helping teach children about tooth decay prevention, bringing oral health education into spaces where families can better understand how prevention starts early.

Wills is also hosting free Brush and Floss Clinics in public libraries in the Indianapolis area, bringing oral health education into community spaces where children and families already gather.

For Wills, the mission is mobile. A classroom, library, shelter, youth organization, or community center can become a place where a child learns something that could change the course of their oral health.

At 50 years old, Wills does not look at her partial denture with shame. She sees purpose.

She understands the cost of dental problems, the pain of extractions, the disappointment of failed dental work, and what it feels like to hear about a treatment that could help but not be able to afford it.

That is why dignity is at the center of her work.

Wills does not want any child or family to feel judged by The Molar Movement. She wants them to feel informed, supported, and empowered to prevent what they can.

Every time a child holds a tooth model, examines an X-ray, practices flossing, or asks a question about their own mouth, something painful from Wills’ past becomes useful.

Two and a half years ago, Lisa Wills walked away with a partial denture. She did not know she was also walking toward her purpose.