Children have a sense of wellbeing: Dental hygiene
Friday 7th September, 2018
For nearly two years, you've been the one holding the toothbrush. Now it's time to pass the torch and teach your child to brush their teeth by themselves.
Our monthly intention looks at promoting good health and wellbeing. The aim is to show children many ways that we can care for ourselves to remain healthy through what we consume, how active we are and instilling sound hygiene practices.
Today, to introduce the concept of caring for our teeth, we presented the children with a laminated picture of a toothy smile. Each child was able to take turns erasing the plaque drawn on the sheet to represent stained teeth from food. We used pipe cleaners as tooth brushes to gently clean away the plaque on our teeth.
We taught our children to:
+ Rush in gentle circles on the inside of the teeth and gums.
+ Brush back and forward on the chewing surface of the teeth.
We don’t expect children to be cleaning the gum lines or reaching into tiny crevices just yet. These early lessons are as much about instilling the habit as they are about technique. The more practice our children obtain, the faster they will improve.
Our children were shown how important it is to brush our teeth at least twice a day after breakfast and before bed time and that the bushing motion breaks down the plaque collected on our teeth. The educators were able to demonstrate that we need to brush all of our teeth, not just the front ones. The children were able to watch a video on YouTube to visually tie in the learning.
To expand on this new concept, we plan on practicing our newfound skills with real toothbrushes and child safe toothpaste at the sink and looking through a mirror. It’s good for children to start having their teeth brushed early so that they see tooth brushing as part of their daily routine and to develop healthy habits for the future.
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