Taking care of our teeth and the importance of maintaining good oral health have been taught to us since childhood. Many of us are familiar with regularly brushing our teeth. Aside from that, we also learned about the importance of hygiene. Back then, it was a plain, old boring part of growing up. Our parents used to do the brushing for us until the time we needed to learn to do it by ourselves. In this day and age, however, you can’t be stuck with using the same method with your kids. There are now creative ways you can make them see the importance of good dental health.
Hold a Dental Health Month or Week
If you can, try holding a celebration for a dental health month or week. During this span of time, you can include lots of creative activities and educational discussions that will surely be a hit with kids and help them learn more about and become more aware of their health. You can plan out a mini-convention where they can visit booths showing all kinds of items, activities, and exhibits, including brushing tools and history of dental health. Make it like going to a carnival, except that it’s more in line with how to properly take care of one’s teeth. School shelters are perfect venues for this sort of activity.
Fun and Educational Activities
Children are naturally attracted to activities that involve their visual and artistic senses. You can use this fact to educate them about their teeth. For example, you can tell kids that they have a total of 20 primaries that will grow to 32 as they reach adulthood. You can have them create a model of a set of teeth using cardboard and paint. Then in between them, you can insert some strings through the gaps as a representation of flossing. Using the model, you can show them how to properly floss their teeth and let them practise as well. While you’re doing that, you can give them reasons why we floss our teeth. This activity can also be applied if you want to teach kids how to properly brush their teeth.
Good and Bad Food
As kids, we preferred food that was sweet or attractive such as candy. However, sweets are one of the top causes of tooth decay. Knowing this, we need to teach children how to eat right and which food they should eat to take care of their teeth better. This can be a difficult task as kids will still grab any opportunity to eat those treats, which aren’t bad at all if they’re controlled. Create an activity where they get to sort food according to whether they’re good or bad for their teeth. Along the way, you can also teach them about brushing in between meals, after waking up, and before going to bed.
For those who grew up with the tooth fairy story, we were taught that in exchange for our teeth, we get something in return. It’s just a story, but it teaches us a valuable lesson about the importance of taking care of our teeth, which we benefit from in the long run. Making children realise this early in life teaches them a habit that they can bring into adulthood and eventually pass on to the next generation.
