Visiting the Dentist

Visit as dentist’s office. Observe the furnishings and equipment. Ask the hygienist to discuss tooth care and demonstrate proper brushing techniques. After the discussion, provide each child with a disclosing tablet to check their brushing habits.

Acid On Our Teeth

Show children how acid weakens the enamel of your teeth. Place a hard-boiled egg into a bowl of vinegar for 24 hours. Observe how the shell becomes soft as it decalcifies. The same principle applies to our teeth if the acid is not removed by brushing.
This was VERY effective way to help my kids find motivation to brush their teeth more consistently and thoroughly.

Toothpaste Taste Testing

Get as many different kinds of toothpaste as you can. Have all of your children taste them. You can even graph which ones are the most favorite and the least favorite.
*Make sure the children understand that it can be dangerous to swallow the toothpaste. Adult supervision should be provided.*

Making Toothpaste

In individual plastic bags place: 4 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt, and 1 tsp water.
Add a drop of food flavoring such as peppermint, mint, or orange.
The children can mix their own toothpaste and try it out at home.

Smiling Apples

Spread peanut butter on one side of each apple slice. Place three to four raisins on the peanut putter of one slice. Top with another apple slice, peanut butter side down.

Sensing Clean Teeth

Place in the sensory table- water, toothbrushes, and soap or peppermint extract.

You Brush Your Teeth

If you wake in the morning at a quarter to one and you want to have a little fun,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....
If you wake in the morning at a quarter to two and you just can’t think of what to do,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....
If you wake in the morning at a quarter to three and your mind keeps humming tweedle dee dee,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....
If you wake in the morning at a quarter to four and you just can’t seem to find the snore,
You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....
If you wake in the morning at a quarter to five and you just can’t wait to come alive,

You brush your teeth ch ch ch ch, ch ch ch ch....

We discovered this song from Raffi's cd "Singable Songs for the Very Young",
which we checked out from the library.
You can listen to part of the song or buy the mp3 here:
http://www.amazon.com/Brush-Your-Teeth/dp/B0010VL0HK/ref=dm_ap_trk6

Tongue Order

Number some tongue depressors with a permanent marker. Place them into a cup and let the children order them or play other number games with them.

Dentist Journal Page

Read a book about the dentist then hand out a journal sheet with this question on it: "When do you like to brush your teeth? How long do you brush for?" Record the children's responses and let them draw a picture to go along with their response.

Click on the image to view and/or print.

Sugar, Sugar, Toothbrush

Play this game as a group like “duck, duck, goose", but use the words "sugar, sugar, toothbrush" instead. The “toothbrush” tries to catch the “sugar“ before it gets around the circle to where the “toothbrush” was sitting. Don't let the sugar stay with the teeth, brush it out!

Dental Office

Set up a dental office for the children to pretend play, include any of the following props: chairs or cots, smocks, mirror, toothbrushes, floss containers, head lamps, babies or stuffed animals for patients, etc.

Toothbrush Painting

Provide toothbrushes (as a painting tool) and paint for the children to paint with at the easel.

Dentist Lesson Plan

Click on the image to view and/or print.