February is National Children’s Dental Health Month. Personally, my inspiration for maintaining healthy dental routines comes from Julia Roberts. Remember the bathroom scene in Pretty Woman where she’s hiding floss behind her back?
The poor girl just wanted to get the strawberry seeds out from between her teeth, but Edward thought she was doing something illegal in there. He judged. And she snapped back, “You shouldn’t neglect your gums.”
Go Vivian.
HANDS-ON ACTIVITIES FOR CHILDREN’S DENTAL HEALTH MONTH
I admit, flossing is probably the most boring part of the routine, but the hygienist always knows when you’re slacking in that area. Always. So helping children establish this healthy habit while they’re young is really helpful.
One of my favorite ways for teaching children how to floss was inspired by Katie from A Little Pinch of Perfect. Using a white plastic ice cube tray, some Play-Doh, and a piece of yarn, she helps kids practice getting bits of food (Play-Doh) out from between teeth (the upside down ice cube tray). Check out her FLOSSING ACTIVITY FOR KIDS.
Children’s Dental Health Month wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t talk about the very basic habit of brushing. Clarissa from Play, Teach, Repeat has a cool TOOTHBRUSHING EXPERIMENT FOR KIDS on her blog. In her post, she shares a simple lab demonstrating how dark, sugary liquids can impact the enamel and color of our teeth. All you need is a hard-boiled egg, some soda or grape juice, a toothbrush, and toothpaste. You can read more in her post, but suffice it to say her kids now want to brush their teeth after every meal!
And check out Kristina’s RACE TO LOSE A TOOTH MATH GAME. Don’t be thrown off by the name of her blog, Toddler Approved. I’ve seen many first graders LOVE this game!
CHILDREN’S BOOKS ABOUT TEETH
There are a lot of titles to choose from, but our two favorites have to be:
- What If You Had Animal Teeth? by Sandra Markle
- You Think It’s Easy Being the Tooth Fairy? by Sheri Bell-Rehwoldt
The first book combines narrative and informational features my students find irresistible. They all want to look through it again when I’m done reading it. Honestly, if I could get about ten copies of this book, they’d be thrilled. It’s great for comparing and contrasting. Or just plain laughing.
The second book is a hilarious tale of the harrowing career of The Tooth Fairy. The kids always laugh at her silly antics. It’s clearly a very dangerous job.
DENTAL HEALTH TEACHING RESOURCES
For books children can read, reread, and keep, I like these.👇
TERRIFIC TEETH teaches children the importance of a good dental hygiene routine. The download includes an interactive response feature and a differentiated text option for children who need a little extra support.
The second book, WHAT DOES A DENTIST DO?, introduces children to the role dentists play in our communities. It also has a modified text option for emerging readers. Both books are ready to print and use and are perfect for most kids in K-1 classrooms.
To weave in writing, I love these HOW-TO TEMPLATES.👇 The routine of brushing teeth is perfect for procedural or how-to writing. Also (side note), while doing a little research online, I learned that most dentists recommend flossing before brushing. Apparently I’ve been doing this backwards my whole life.🤷♀️
I added a word list for writers in this set. It includes key words for this particular topic and can help writers generate ideas when they’re feeling stuck. It’s a great jumping-off point, but I also like the idea of brainstorming more words with kids to add to the list before they begin writing.
Happy teaching!
MORE BLOG POSTS FOR FEBRUARY
❤️ WHAT ARE THE SPORTS IN THE WINTER OLYMPICS?
❤️ VALENTINE SCIENCE – CUPID’S TARGET PRACTICE
