As part of Dental Health Week, which starts this week, the Australian Dental Asocciation is offering a free dental children's storybook Guardians of the Gums available to download. Created together with BeeHealthy Stories and SugarByHalf, the story tells the battle faced by the Guardians of the Gums as they protect the teeth from sugar and bacteria.
It's important in the early years in a child's development it's the best time for a child to learn about oral health and to develop a positive attitude about good dental habits. Talk to children about why it is important to keep our teeth healthy. Explain that we need our teeth to chew food, speak, and have a healthy smile. A healthy mouth is part of a healthy body.
Free Printables include:
Free Teeth Counting 1 to 10 Number Worksheets - Children can practice counting from 1 to 10 with these fun teeth counting worksheets. Children count the teeth on the worksheet and colour/paint/add counters/add cotton balls/add blocks etc. to the corresponding number of teeth in the mouth. These can also be used as play dough mats with children adding playdough to the mouth matching the number.
Toothbrush Colour Sort - This simple activity enables children to recognise colours by sorting each of the colour dots to the correct colour toothbrush. The colour dots are to be cut out for children to sort and match the colour dots for each toothbrush. Children can also use pom, playdough, coloured blocks and more. This activity will help children correctly identify different colours.
How To Brush Baby's Teeth - The following provides information on how to brush a child's teeth.
The ADA's main oral health messages and the four key messages of the DHW campaign aim to reinforce the importance of maintaining good oral health to keep your teeth for life.
Campaign messages include:
1) Brush your teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste.
2) Clean between your teeth daily using floss or interdental brushes.
3) Eat a healthy, balanced diet and limit added sugar intake.
4) Visit the dentist regularly for check-ups and preventive care.
Click the following to download free children's book: Guardian Of The Gums
For more information: Dental Health Week