Healthy Teeth Theme
Why are teeth important?
Teeth help us to eat, talk, smile and are place holders for our adult teeth.
Everyone will have 2 sets of teeth. Kids have 20 teeth and adults have 32 teeth. Your “baby” teeth will fall out around age 5 or 6.
It’s important to brush 2 times a day (before breakfast and after dinner) and floss our teeth to remove food germs to prevent cavities.
Enamel is the hard outer coating that protects our teeth. Bad foods can hurt the enamel and cause cavities.
What are Cavities?
Cavities are tiny holes in our teeth. We should also drink lots of water and eat healthy foods to protect our teeth.
Who takes care of our teeth?
A dentist checks our teeth and applies fluoride (a substance that protects our teeth against cavities), takes x-rays, and fixes problems with our teeth.
Discussion Questions
What would it be like without teeth?
What community helper takes care of our teeth?
How can we take care of our teeth?
What can happen if we do not take care of our teeth?
Healthy Teeth Resources
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/resources/activity-sheets/
https://www.americastoothfairy.org/resources videos instructions activity sheets
https://cavityfreekids.org/activity/
https://www.colgate.com/en-us/oral-health-education/educational-resources
https://www.scholastic.com/givekidsasmile/index.html
Give Kids A Smile®—GKAS volunteers provide free dental health education, screenings, preventive care, and/or treatment for underserved kids.
Brush, Book, Bed—The American Academy of Pediatrics program to help families establish a healthy nighttime routine that includes brushing teeth, reading together, and a regular bedtime. Visit the site for free resources to start a program in your office.
Unhealthy (sticky) foods -In this small group activity, children feel different textures of food to determine which ones are sticky.
Teeth fluoride activity In this activity, children will learn about what happens during a dental visit to encourage children and parents to get regular checkups and treatment as needed.
Activities
Inside My Mouth-Provide hand mirrors to children so they can look inside their own mouths like a dentist does. Encourage children to smile and frown, stick their tongues in and out, open only little and open wide. Can you count your teeth? Help children count as needed.
Flossing my teeth- Place play dough in between a Lego/Duplo block. Provide your child with a piece of yarn or string to “floss” the food out of the teeth.
Brushing my teeth- Provide your child with a toothbrush and a white egg carton or ice tray. Allow your child to use the items to practice brushing their teeth.
Brushing My Teeth Egg Experiment- Take 2 or 3 hard boiled eggs and place each into a different liquid. For my toddler, I used Minute Maid fruit juice and Coke. I let the eggs sit for a couple of hours (just long enough to make a stain). I couldn't believe it only took a few minutes for the cola to stain the egg. I gave my tot a toothbrush with a little toothpaste and instructed him to brush the "tooth". At 2, he is not quite using his imagination yet but he did have fun!
Puffy paint toothbrush- Draw a toothbrush with bristles onto a piece of paper. Use a puffy paint (one part glue and 1 part white paint) to add “toothpaste” onto the tooth brush.
3-D Toothbrush- Draw a rectangular shape onto a piece of paper. Create bristles using
yarn.
Paper bag lunch- Cut and paste healthy foods onto a paper bag. For an added bonus, recreate your healthy foods to eat for lunch.
Sequencing- Put the steps of brushing your teeth in order using first, second, third and fourth.
Looking for more Dental Health Resources. Dental themed worksheets focused on:
Sensory
Loose parts- Use pink play dough and white pony beads to practice brushing. Place the beads into a circle shape into the play dough. Provide your child with a tooth to “brush” the teeth.
Healthy Teeth Snacks
3-D smile
Dramatic play
Grocery store- Set up your play area like a grocery store. Place price tags on foods and set up food displays. Invite your child to “shop” for healthy foods.
Dentist- Set up a lamp and a chair as a dentist’s exam room. Allow your child to give you a dental check up. Don’t forget to make a dental bib for this pretend activity.
Brushing babies teeth- Grab a doll or a teddy bear to practice brushing teeth.
Healthy Teeth Book list
Infant and Toddlers
Smile, Roberta Grobel, 1995
My Teeth, Milestones Project, 2007
Eating the Rainbow (Babies Everywhere), Star Bright Books, 2009
Eating the Alphabet, Lois Ehlert, 1995
Preschool
Ready, Set, Brush: A Pop-Up Book, Sesame Street, Che Rudko, 2008
Chomp and Chew, to a Healthy You!, Molly Carroll, 2011
Max Goes to the Dentist, Adria F. Klein, 2006
The Going to Bed Book, Sandra Boynton, 1995
Dinosaur vs. Bedtime, Bob Shea, 2008
All About Teeth, Mari Schuh, 2006
At the Dentist, Mari Schuh 2007
Going Greenie: Are You Eating Something Red?, Ryan Sias, 2010
Your Teeth, Helen Frost, 1995
Brushing Well, Helen Frost, 2004
Dentist, Jacqueline Laks Gorman, 2002
My Tooth Is About to Fall Out, Grace Maccarone, 1995
Snacks for Healthy Teeth, Mari Schuh, 2008
Potter the Otter, a Tale About Water, Shalini Singh, 2011
Buddy’s Teeth, Andrea Posner-Sanchez, 2012
Brush Your Teeth Please, Leslie McGuire, 1993
Clarabella’s Teeth, An Vrombaut, 200
Dental Health Songs
Sing the song “The Dentist is My Pal”
(To the tune “The Farmer in the Dell”)
The dentist is my pal, the dentist is my pal,
The chair goes high, the chair goes low.
The dentist is my pal
There is a waiting room, with lots of things to do,
Books and toys for girls and boys
Are waiting there for you. Oooohhh!!
They ask me to open wide and then they look inside.
Carefully they check my teeth
And keep them shining bright. Ooohhh!
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