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It’s August and kids are headed back to school for the fall. They are anticipating solving math problems, writing essays, presenting science projects, and maybe even taking a health class. One subject they probably won’t encounter in school is dental health. At Simply Smiles Miami, we have some tips and recommendations for all teachers and parents/guardians of homeschoolers on how to implement this important topic into their child’s curriculum.
It’s important to remember that a child’s oral health, or lack thereof, can greatly impact their school readiness. Children with poor dental health may face difficulties such as:
- Having a hard time concentrating and learning due to pain in their teeth and mouth.
- They may even miss school days as a result of oral pain.
- They may suffer from low self esteem if other children comment on the appearance of unhealthy teeth, resulting in them withdrawing, covering their mouth when they speak, or no longer smiling.
It’s never too early to start teaching kids about the importance of oral health. According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, 21% of children aged 6 to 11 have had a cavity in their permanent teeth. It’s important that as the influential role models in children’s lives, mainly teachers and parents, you lay the foundation for excellent oral care that will serve them well the rest of their lives. An article by We Are Teachers estimates the average teacher affects the lives of over 3,000 students during their career, and 74% of students claim their teacher is a mentor and role model for them.
This level of influence could make a huge impact on the future oral health for these kids if teachers and parents make it a priority to teach proper oral hygiene and include this topic in their curriculum and lesson plans. We know oral health doesn’t always sound like the most interesting subject for kiddos, but we promise there are many activities and resources to help make this a fun topic to cover. Here are a few ideas to help make it easier to include dental hygiene into your child’s learning!
- Teach flossing with a hands-on Play Dough Activity!
- For this simple activity, all you need is a Mega Block single-rowed block, or a jumbo lego block and Play Dough. Mold the Play Dough in between the spaces in the block and have the children remove it using dental floss. It’s even better if some small pieces are left behind as this highlights the importance of flossing between teeth.
- Build knowledge on dental health with an Egg-celent experiment.
- Using just eggs, a can of soda, fluoride mouthwash, and white vinegar, this activity will show kids just what sugary, acidic drinks can do to their teeth and how beneficial and protective fluoride can be in toothpaste and mouth rinse. The eggs will sit overnight, some in cola and some in fluoride mouth rinse, until the morning where you will put them all in vinegar. The cola eggs should have bubbles escape, showing that the acid in the cola has weakened the shell, while the fluoride eggs should have no reaction.
- Watch educational videos and assign engaging books that teach oral hygiene in a fun and easy-to-understand format.
- Mouth Healthy has some amazing resources, videos, downloadable PDFs, and lesson plans to choose from. Check them out here: https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/resources/lesson-plans
- Invite a local dentist to come visit your class to speak about dental health.
- This would be a fantastic way for a professional to come in and properly demonstrate oral care to children. This visit can also help children see dentists as friendly and fun and help alleviate some of their fears going into their next office visit.
- Sign-up for the Colgate Bright Smiles, Bright Futures classroom kit.
- This wonderful program that Colgate has for Primary educators offers free classroom kits that come with teaching materials, Colgate toothpaste, and toothbrush samples for 24 head start, kindergarten, or first-grade students.
We truly hope that this list gives you some great ideas and inspiration to make oral health a focal point in the education of the children in your life. These invaluable lessons will set them up for success in many ways for the rest of their life. Our caring team at Simply Smiles Miami also specializes in Pediatric dentistry. Give us a call today so we can set up a time to meet your little ones and help teach them the importance of oral hygiene.
Sources:
https://sugarspiceandglitter.com/teach-children-floss-teeth-play-dough/
https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/resources/lesson-plans/demonstrations/eggcelent
https://www.mrsrichardsonsclass.com/6-dental-health-activities-to-support-learning-a-freebie/
https://www.kaplanco.com/ii/teaching-children-about-dental-health
https://educationtothecore.com/2022/02/23-classroom-activities-for-dental-health-month/
https://www.weareteachers.com/teacher-impact-statistics/
https://www.nidcr.nih.gov/research/data-statistics/dental-caries/children
https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/oral-health/brush-oral-health/promoting-oral-health-school-readiness