Activities to Promote Healthy Teeth in Kids

Activities that promote healthy teeth in children will give them an understanding of basic hygiene and why it's important to take care of their teeth. Involving students in learning activities helps them engage and retain critical information. Lecturing kids is rarely effective on its own -- as it is easy to become bored and tune out.

Brushing

• Using hard boiled eggs as a substitute for the children's teeth, begin a discussion by asking about the importance of tooth brushing. Use dark soda to represent things that are bad for teeth. Place soda in a cup and put the eggs in the soda. Leave it resting overnight. The next day, have the kids remove the eggs from the soda. Provide a toothbrush and toothpaste and ask the children to gently brush the eggs. The dark soda will be removed by the toothbrush, which helps the children gain a deeper understanding of the importance of brushing.

Flossing

• An activity to help children understand flossing involves using plastic gloves, peanut butter, floss and tooth brushes. Instruct the children to work in groups of two or three. Have one child in each group put on plastic gloves and smear peanut butter in the spaces between his fingers. The fingers represent teeth and the spaces represent the spaces between teeth where food particles become stuck. Instruct the children to remove the peanut butter with a toothbrush with fingers closed. Try the same thing with the dental floss. Have a discussion with the children about which method is more effective. The dental floss will come out the winner -- and you can send students home with their own flossing kit.

Tooth Decay and Fluoride

• Fluoride is an important component in helping prevent tooth decay. Show children the importance of fluoride by placing mouth rinse with fluoride in a cup along with a dark colored soda. In another cup, place dark colored soda only. Soak boiled eggs in the two cups overnight. Examine the eggs the next morning -- and find that the egg soaked in the cup half-filled with fluoride rinse did not become nearly as dark as the other egg. Discuss places where fluoride is added such as toothpaste, mouthwash and some water systems.

Healthy Snacking

• Proper nutrition including healthy snacking is important for children's dental health. An activity to help children choose healthy snacks involves setting up a place mat and a plate for each child. Cut pictures of foods out of magazines for children to select from. Have the children fill plates with foods that are good for teeth. Talk to the children about how sugar can cause cavities. Once finished filling plates the child should discuss her choices with the other children -- particularly why she chose the items and how they are good for her teeth. Have a plate filled with sugary and processed foods to show the children the difference in healthy and unhealthy snacking.