Dental Health

[Anna]

Does anyone have any preschool ideas for the theme "Dental Health?"

[Diane]

Perpetual preschool has a LOT of great idea's... I'm sure you'll find this site worth looking at.

http://www.96.cyberhost.net/perpetua/dental_health.htm

Cut the apple into wedges. Take two pieces and smear peanut butter on them. Place the mini marshmallows in the peanut butter to represent teeth. Now put the two wedges together for a toothy smile.


•Ask the children what we use teeth for.
•Ask the children what they think it would be like to not have any teeth.
•Help the kids count their teeth
•Ask the children if any of them have lost any teeth, and why they loose their teeth.
•Do they know who the Tooth Fairy is?
•Talk to children about why teeth are important and how to take care of them.
•Make a collage using pictures of mouths cut out of magazines.
•Take a field trip to a dentist office.
•Ask your local dentist to donate a few of his/her samples of toothpaste, brush, floss, brochures for kids, posters etc...

Dental Activity Sheets
Learn to Floss your teeth ( from Kinderheart Littles)
To teach children about dental hygiene in a creative way.

WHAT YOU NEED:
Egg Carton
White yarn
Scissors

WHAT YOU DO:
1.Take a empty egg carton and cut, so you'll have 3 pieces.
2.You don't need the top of carton, just the bottom.
3.Cut a long piece of yarn (white) and use as floss.
4.Turn carton over so the bottom will be face up, this will act as your teeth.
5.Tell kids to wrap the yarn around their fingers and start to floss.

Toothbrushes
Thin Cardboard
Crayons, Paint, or Markers
Sponge
Glue
Cut a large toothbrush handle shaped out of the cardboard or heavy tag board. Have the children color it. Cut a piece of sponge to glue on where the bristles would go.

Happy Tooth, Sad Tooth Craft (from Miningco.com)
Cut pictures of high-sugar foods and healthy low-sugar foods out of old magazines. Cover them with clear self-stick paper for durability, if desired.
Make two boxes for sorting the pictures, one with a happy tooth shape on it and one with a sad tooth shape on it. Show the boxes to the children. Talk about why certain kinds of foods would make teeth "happy" or "sad". Then let the children sort the pictures into the boxes, putting the pictures of low-sugar foods in the happy box and the pictures of high-sugar foods in the sad tooth box.

Smiling Pictures (from Miningco.com)
Give each child a 6-by 4 inch pair of smiling lips cut out of red construction paper and an 8-by 1/2 inch strip of white paper. Have the children snip off little pieces of their white paper strips to make "teeth". Then let them glue their paper teeth on their paper lips to make big toothy smiles.




Healthy Snack (from Miningco.com)
Ask the children why they think that apples are said to be "Nature's Toothbrush." Then let them help you prepare this apple snack. Core several apples. Fill each one with soft cheese of peanut butter. Slice
the apple into rounds and serve.

I Brush my Teeth Song
Sung to the tune of Jingle Bells
I brush my teeth, I brush my teeth,
Morning, noon and night.
I brush them, floss them, rinse them clean.
I keep them nice and white.
I brush them once, I brush them twice,
I brush them till they shine.
I always brush them up and down,
Those precious teeth of mine.
I eat good foods, I eat good foods,
I give my teeth a treat.
I always eat fruits, bread and milk,
Vegetables and meat.
If I eat sweets, if I eat sweets,
I brush right away
To keep my teeth shiny bright,
And free from tooth decay.

Brush Your Teeth Up
Sung to the tune of The Hokey Pokey
You Brush Your Teeth Up
You Brush Your Teeth Down
You Brush The Front and Back
So they're shiny all around
You brush them in the Morning
And you brush them when it's night
That's how you do it right.

[MK]

Can you invite a guest speaker? If you're really lucky have a dentist or hygienist come (maybe one of the parents is one). You could also invite a teenager/pret-teen with braces to come show them off, show pictures of before the braces when their teeth were crooked, and show how straight they are now. I even have a cast (it was done incorrectly, so they let me have it) of my own teeth before they were fixed, and I let the children I taught see it, and explained how my teeth got to be as pretty as they are now. Open your own mouth and show off your fillings (little kids love that), explaining what happens when you don't brush well. Get someone's grandma to come in and show off her dentures.

[Leigh]

The preschool room at the center where I work, had the "tooth fairy" come for a visit. The children loved this. Some pictures were taken and put up in the room, and anytime anyone comes in the room, the children show them the picture and tell them about the "tooth fairy".