Make teeth from a folded paper plate and glued on teeth
from the
ridge of the paper plate. We also brush our teeth every
day in school with the tooth brushes that the dentist
gave us. The nurse from our school also talked to us about dental hygiene.
I HAVE A LOOSE TOOTH
A wiggelty jiggelty loose tooth
I have a loose tooth
A-hanging by a thread.
So I pulled my loose tooth
My wiggelty jiggelty loose tooth
Put it 'neath my pillow
And then I went to bed.
The fairy took my loose tooth
My wiggelty jiggelty loose tooth
And now I have a nickel
And a hole inside my head.
BRUSH, BRUSH BRUSH YOUR TEETH
(tune of Row, Row Row your Boat)
BRUSH, BRUSH, BRUSH YOUR TEETH,
AT LEAST TWO TIMES A DAY.
CLEANING, CLEANING CLEANING, CLEANING,
FIGHTING TOOTH DECAY.
FLOSS, FLOSS, FLOSS YOUR TEETH
EVERY SINGLE DAY.
GENTLY, GENTLY, GENTLY GENTLY,
WHISKING PLAQUE AWAY.
RINSE, RINSE, RINSE YOUR TEETH
EVERY SINGLE DAY.
SWISHING, SWISHING, SWISHING, SWISHING,
FIGHTING TOOTH DECAY.
Dental Health Activities
Soak an egg in a cup of cola and a second one in vinegar. Overnight
the eggs will turn brown and the other one will lose it's shell. The
cola one can show what happens if you don't brush (It will come off
with a toothbrush and toothpaste) The second one shows that if the
acid continually builds up in your mouth, it will decalcify, just like
the egg. *Dental floss painting or painting with toothbrushes
*Toothpaste taste test, graph results, have kids bring in empty boxes
of toothpaste and sort them and graph how many of each kind were
brought in.Invite the dentist in for a talk
~~I liked those ideas! Also, we usually play Pass The Toothpaste. We
sit in a circle and pass the toothpaste around, when the music stops
whoever is holding the toothpaste has to go sit in the cookie jar!!!
~~I saw this idea in Mailbox magazine - cut the bottoms off of 16oz.
Coke bottles. Give the children toothbrushes and toothpaste and let
them brush their "tooth". You can also cut out a tooth shape from
yellow paper. Mix white tempera paint with corn syrup. Give the
children toothbrushes to dip into the mixture and brush their tooth
with. The mixture will dry to a glossy finish and resemble a healthy
tooth.
~~Paper plate collage of healthy foods cut from magazines.
~~Cut large teeth from black construction paper and paint with white
paint and a tooth brush
Dental Health Literature
LITTLE RABBIT'S LOOSE TOOTH by Lucy Bate
Albert's Toothache byWilliams
Dr. DeSoto by Steig
Just Going To The Dentist byMayer
Little Rabbit's Loose Tooth by Bate
The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist by Berenstain
Franklin and The Tooth Fairy Bourgeois
Dental Health Cooking
Apple Smiles
Dental Health Field Trip
Visit a Dentist Office
Have a Dental Hygientist visit the classroom
http://www.colgate.com
An interesting way to help children to understand the importance of
brushing their teeth is to place an egg in a container of vinegar. The
vinegar should cover the top of the egg. Let the egg set for three
days. Discuss with the children that the vinegar is similar to the
"stuff" left on their teeth when they do not brush. After three days,
the shell will have disolved, and you have a rubber egg. Yes it will
bounce, but not from a great distance.
We have dental health month in Feb., too. I did this activity with my
apples unit, but it might be a fun thing to do with dental health. Now
understand--this is just a fun activity basically. You cut 2 apple
slices (red apple), put peanut butter on one side of each slice, and
put miniature marshmallows between the slices, close to the skin side.
It makes red lips and teeth. Now--it CAN be related to good snacks,
white teeth, etc.
Another activity I do--with no touching--is to have the children try
to find out how many teeth they have as children (as opposed to what
they will have as adults). I have them look into a friend's mouth and
count teeth--or places where teeth have been!! This could be done
individually with mirrors.
Obviously, having a resource person come in is good. Sometimes they
will have toothbrushes and toothpaste for each child. They used to
give out disclosing tablets, too. I let the children use all of these
at home. One funny incident that I was unable to avert--a hygienist,
who knew little about dealing with K children, came in to talk to
them. She FIRST gave each one a toothbrush sealed in cellophane and
told each child to hold it, not open it, and then listen to her talk.
You know what happened--before she ever finished, toothbrushes were
out of wrappers, on the floor, etc. It was interesting!! ;-)
An art project we did for dental health month was drawing the outline of
a tooth on yellow paper, and allowing the children to use toothbrushes to
paint them white. They really enjoyed that a lot. A fun science project we
did was sampling different foods that were good for the teeth. I have 21/2
year olds, but with kindergarten you may even be able to sample foods that
get chewed by different teeth. (i.e. veggies vs. meat) Another really fun
thing is to see if you can get a local dental hygienist to come into your
school. They bring neat stuff for the kids. They use it as a promotional
thing.
Art: Try spatter painting with old toothbrushes. Spatter around a tooth shape
cut out of oak tag.
Art: Make a toothbrush holder out of flour, salt &water. Make into a dough
and coil into an upright shape. Put in the sun for a day or so to dry. You
can paint when dry or add food coloring to the dough before you coil.
Science: Make your own toothpaste out of 1 teas. baking soda, 1 drop of
peppermint extract and a few drops of water. Mix together and scoop onto
brush and brush as usual. Tastes great!!
Tooth trivia:
A walrus uses its teeth (tusks) to dig into the ice and then pulls its body
out of the water.
A parrotfish's teeth go all the way down its throat to help chew the food on
the way to the stomach.
The sperm whale is the only giant whale with teeth. He keeps them all in his
lower jaw and they are all the same size - about the size of a grown-up's
fist.
Birds have no teeth. They have gizzards that take the place of teeth and
grind up the food.
The largest animal teeth are an elephant's tusks and the smallest teeth are
found on the tongue of a snail.
Rodents need to chew all of the time or their teeth will grow too big for
their mouths.
Books:
Arthur's Tooth - M.Brown
Pulling My Leg - J.Carson
Crocus - R.Duvoisin
Tooth Fairy - A.Wood
The Mango Tooth - C. Pomerantz
Dr.DeSoto - W.Steig
The Bully Brothers Trick the Tooth Fairy - M.Thaler
Song ( Twinkle, Twinkle tune)
Sparkle, sparkle, little teeth,
Some above and some beneath.
Brush them all at every meal,
Clean and fresh they'll always feel.
Sparkle, sparkle, little teeth,
Some above and some beneath.
Floss them, floss them, in between.
Cavities will not be seen!
See your dentist twice a year,
You will grin from ear to ear.
Floss them, floss them, in between,
Cavities will not be seen!
Snacking, snacking, it's okay.
Try it in the proper way.
Eat raw veggies, fruit and cheese.
They will make your mouth say "Please!"
Snacking, snacking, it's okay.
Try it in the proper way.
Tooth Fairy Trivia:
Japan - upper teeth go into a barrel and bottom ones go into a latrine.
Mexico - there is a tooth mouse. Kids put teeth into a shoe and the mouse
takes it & leaves a treasure
India - kids throw teeth into a mouse hole so that the tooth mouse can get
them.
Bangladesh - kids put teeth into banana peels and float them down the river.
Indonesia - upper teeth get buried in the ground and bottom teeth go up on the
roof.
Art: Make tooth fairy bags out of felt.
Idea for teeth. Take an ice cube tray. put plaster of paris in and let a
mold set. Pop the cubes/teeth out. Take the cubes and put them in a half
circle on a table. The kids can practice brushing the teeth with a tooth
brush.
http://www.pg.com/docYourhome/docCrest/
http://ericir.syr.edu/Virtual/Lessons/Health/Body_Systems/BSS0007.html
http://www.colgate.com/Kids-world/index.html
craft, we have made red playdough and are letting the children make gum
shapes and then adding white beans to look like a mouth full of teeth.
Also, we are cutting large sheets of oak tag into the shape of teeth and
letting the children paint with tooth brushes. We also have some color
sheets for the transition time after lunch.These ideas might be too young
for the kindergarteners, but perhaps they will give you an idea.
Greer
Another book that you could use is "Loose Tooth" about two bat brothers and
one loses a tooth and one doesnt and the jealous actions that ensue. Don't
know the author, but it was published by scholastic.
Another idea is to make apple smiles. use two apple wedges for the lips,
spread peanut butter on one side of each and put mini marshmallows in
between for teeth.
Have you kept a graph of lost teeth? There are several books, Little
Rabbit's tooth, Franklin and the tooth fairy, several others that deal with
teeth.
How about sticking an egg in vinegar and as the shell wears away relate that
to their teeth and the enamel. This is cool and really surprises the kids.
Make up a bingo game with good and bad things for your teeth.
Relating to animals.. sharks teeth, there number, that they grow back and
several rows, compared to ours. T-rex's.the size, shape, sharpness, as opposed
to the baleen in a whale. We talked about that and discussed which kids could
be good whales and which kids (those without their front teeth) wouldn't be
able to push out the water and keep the krill.
You can show the kids how scientists figured out what dinosaurs ate by their
teeth. Carnivores (t Rex) had sharp teeth and herbivores had flat teeth for
grinding. Then have the children fold a paper plate in half and glue large
marshmallows on the inside edge of the plate for herbivore choppers. (Candy
corn can be used for carnivores. I've just done the herbivore teeth.)
Are Your Teeth Clean and White
Sung to "Do Your Ears Hang Low!"
Are your teeth clean and white?
Do you brush them every night?
Do you brush them in the morning?
Do you brush them right?
Do you brush them side to side?
Are your teeth clean and white?
Do you floss them good
To remove the bits of food?
Do you floss them every day?
Like you know you should?
Do you take good care of
The teeth that are there?
Do you floss them good?
How 'bout a toothy snack? We made our own mouths! Here's how:
Leave the skin on a red apple and slice (these are the lips)
Spread peanut butter on 1 side of each slice (gums to hold the teeth in
place)
Add marshmallows for teeth (count them, of course!)
Mash the mouth together (apple, p.b., marshmallows, p.b. and apple) and
you've got a cute and delicious smile
You can also talk about how many teeth we really have!
Theresa
How 'bout a toothy snack? We made our own mouths! Here's how:
Leave the skin on a red apple and slice (these are the lips)
Spread peanut butter on 1 side of each slice (gums to hold the teeth in
place)
Add marshmallows for teeth (count them, of course!)
Mash the mouth together (apple, p.b., marshmallows, p.b. and apple) and
you've got a cute and delicious smile
You can also talk about how many teeth we really have!
Theresa
Are Your Teeth Clean and White
Sung to "Do Your Ears Hang Low!"
Are your teeth clean and white?
Do you brush them every night?
Do you brush them in the morning?
Do you brush them right?
Do you brush them side to side?
Are your teeth clean and white?
Do you floss them good
To remove the bits of food?
Do you floss them every day?
Like you know you should?
Do you take good care of
The teeth that are there?
Do you floss them good?
An activity you can use to teach flossing is:
Have one row of children sit down and another row of childre kneeling. To demonstrate the correct flossing methods, unroll about ten feet of butcher paper and twist it to represent dental floss. Choose two children from the group to hold onto each end of the giant dental floss. The children need to loop the butcher paper around each child representing a tooth. Then they will slowly pull the butcher paper back and forth between the two people who are sitting or kneeling next to each other. This is like flossing between the teeth. Have them floss the inside surfaces in the spaces between each tooth before going on to the next "tooth". An optional bit of fun is to let several of the children pretend to be plaque or food that is caught between the teeth. As the floss is pulled through, the child who is the food particle or the plaque will dislodge and move out with the floss.
Dr. Danny
are you sleeping - tune
Dr. Danny
Always tells me,
Brush your teeth
Brush your teeth.
Brush them in the morning
And again at bedtime.
Brush your teeth
Brush your teeth
Discuss that we can create cavaties in our teeth if
we do not take care of them, etc. Juices, and food create germs, acids,
and bacteria that can hurt our teeth (even though we can't see the
"stuff" attacking our teeth) and thus brushing and flossing are very
important.
How about a trip to the dentist's office? Or have one come into the room (
one of our teachers on our site husband is a dentist) Go to your district
curriculum center and look for P/K unit on health and it usually has some cute
stuff in there. Most Ks are beginning to lose their teeth around this time, I
make a big huge tooth and enough little teeth for the whole class, you can buy
these in teacher supply stores, could also be a toothless smile and as the
kids lose their teeth they get to put the stickie on the big tooth, you could
do a graph the same way Who has lost a tooth and Who has not lost a tooth. Get
someone to donate toothbrushes to your class and have a demonstration of how
to brush your teeth correctly. One year I sent home a homework chart for them
to have in the bathroom for 10 days to chart with sticker how many times a day
they remembered to brush their teeth. Only 3 times is necessary and
encouraged. Parents loved this one. Can discuss now different animals have
different kind of teeth for use in different ways, what aniimals have teeth,
are their some without teeth? Tooth in a coke bottle is always good to make
them aware of tooth decay, the egg in vinegar also. Have a tooth on disiplay
on your wall labeling all the parts of the tooth and discuss it. This is also
a good opportunity to get in the healthy snack concept, discuss with kids what
foods they think are healthy and what ones are not, then use liittle paper
bags and let kids cut out magazines to find healthy snacks that will help
Tommy Tooth grow strong. Cound also make a chart about ths one, but kids
enjoy taking something home to share with parents and paper bag full of
pictures does the trick. Hope this helps!
Brush Brush Your Teeth
(tune: Row Row Row Your Boat)
Brush, brush, brush your teeth,
At least two times a day.
Cleaning, cleaning, cleaning, cleaning,
Fighting tooth decay!
Floss, floss, floss your teeth,
Every single day.
Gently, gently, gently, gently,
Whisking plaque away!
Rinse, rinse, rinse your teeth
Every single day.
Swishing, swishing, swishing, swishing
Fighting tooth decay!
Snacking Guide:
GOOD SNACKS OK OCCASIONALLY BAD SNACKS
Cheddar cheese Root Beer Sticky, gooey candy
Fresh fruit Chocolate Raisins, dried fruit
Milk Ice cream Colas, soda
Unsweet, fruit juice Oatmeal Cookies Fruit drinks
Nuts Butter cookies Chewing gum
Cheese crackers Corn, potato chips
Raw veggies Presweet. cereals
Peanut Butter Taffy
Popcorn Sandwich cookies
Wheat crackers fruit rollups
chewy granola bars
Homemade Toothpaste--
Gather 1 tsp. salt, 4 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. peppermint flavoring. Add enough water to make a foamy paste.
Toothbrush painting
Use a toothbrush to make scrap marks on paper or use nail to splatter paint.
try the egg and vinegar
demonstration. Take a hard boiled egg, discuss that it is hard like the
enamel on our teeth. The hard shell protects the egg like the enamel
protects our tooth. Then you place it in vinegar and after a few minutes
take it out and you should be able to poke a indentation into
the shell...a "cavity." Discuss that we can create cavaties in our teeth if
we do not take care of them, etc. Juices, and food create germs, acids,
and bacteria that can hurt our teeth (even though we can't see the
"stuff" attacking our teeth) and thus brushing and flossing are very
important.
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