Learning about Teeth Brush & Clean Activity -

We are thrilled to be working with the American Dental Association (ADA) to bring you this sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Come “brush” up on your dental hygiene knowledge with activities, free printables and crafts for kids to learn about teeth. The 4 following activities are a perfect way to help them learn about dental care and is the perfect time to give your own teeth routine a checkup too because adult dental care is just as important!

I'm so glad you are here because you recognize the importance of dental care. As an adult it is easy to tell our kids to brush their teeth, but who is telling you to brush your teeth? (Hopefully you are.) I must admit, sometimes after a long day of chasing the kids around I just want to go to bed… but then I think about morning breath, cavities and gum disease and I think twice. It's important for adults to make time to attend to their teeth. Listen, we do so much to keep our bodies healthy and looking good like working out, eating right, and getting ready in the morning. It's important to attend to our teeth too—they are the first thing people see when we smile.

Here are a few Easy Tips for Adult Dental Care

Don't forget to brush your teeth twice a day and replace your toothbrush regularly, say every 3-4 months. We use electric toothbrushes and replace our toothbrush heads. Curious about good techniques for brushing? Visit the American Dental Association website.

Clean between your teeth daily with an item designated to clean between teeth. According to the ADA, adults have used 'unusual items' like folded paper, forks, safety pins, and other surprising things to try to clean between their teeth. Don't be 'that guy/gal' because they can be harmful. Types of products that are okay are traditional floss, water flossers, cone shaped brushes, soft wooden sticks and rubber cones. If you aren't exactly sure what to choose you can visit the ADA to check out their accepted list of products. That brings me to the next point.

Choose products with the ADA Seal of Acceptance to make sure your toothbrush, mouth rinses, toothpastes and other products have been evaluated for safety and efficacy. They even check mouthguards, chewing gum, and water filters!

Remember, it doesn't matter when you tend to your teeth, just make sure that you do. My husband brushes his teeth in the shower, I brush my teeth at the sink, and we do what works for us.

Drink water with fluoride. According to the ADA 'fluoride water is safe and effective in preventing tooth decay by at least 25%'. Unfortunately, we live in a location that does not have fluoridated water, but we have fluoride supplement products in place of drinking water.

Keep your body healthy to keep your teeth healthy. By limiting sugary foods and drinks, not using tobacco, and avoiding oral piercings that can invite bacteria and infection, your body and teeth will thank you.

It's important for you as the adult, teacher and mentor to have a healthy mouth (plus, no one likes big dental work bills–right!?!) So, let’s keep those pearly whites clean and bright and teach our children how to do the same. If you are like me and could use some “brushing” up on your dental knowledge, visit the ADA website for some helpful information. They have a super informative Life Stages area that is perfect to look at with your kids, teens, spouse, parents, or while you are pregnant to make sure everyone you know is taking care of their teeth. Now onto our learning activities to help your children learn about dental care. Maybe you'll learn something, too!

Tooth Enamel Brush & Clean

We are thrilled to be working with the American Dental Association (ADA) to bring you this sponsored post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Come “brush” up on your dental hygiene knowledge with activities, free printables, and crafts for kids to learn about teeth. The 4 following activities are a perfect way to help them learn about dental care and is the perfect time to give your own teeth routine a checkup too because adult dental care is just as important!

SUPPLIES:

Tooth Enamel Template (Available to download at the end of this post)
Brown tempera paint
Shaving cream
White crayon
Paint brush
Paper towel
Cup of water
Toothbrush for crafting

DIRECTIONS:

Print the Tooth Enamel Template on white paper.

Mix brown paint and shaving cream together to make a light brown paint.

Have your child color the tooth with “enamel” using the white crayon. The more they color the better, so pressing hard with the crayon is totally okay for this activity.

Have them paint the tooth with “plaque and food” using the light brown shaving cream paint.

Have them clean the “plaque and food” off the tooth using the toothbrush. My kids loved this part! When most of the tooth was clean we used a paper towel to dry off the tooth and remove some final “plaque and food.”

Kids should notice that where the enamel was, the tooth came clean, but where the enamel wasn’t or if it wasn’t very “strong” or thick the “plaque and food” was able to make the tooth dirty. Visit the ADA to learn more about tooth enamel.

Floss it out Playdough Activity

SUPPLIES:

White ice tray
Playdough
Pipe cleaner or yarn

DIRECTIONS:

Turn the ice tray upside down and place pieces of play dough in between the ice cube reservoirs to fill the gaps.

Explain to your child that the play dough represents plaque and food that get stuck in between our teeth.

Have them use the pipe cleaner to “floss” out the play dough. You may need to hold the ice cube tray still or have another student take turns holding the tray and flossing. This would be a perfect time to introduce other 'in-between teeth' cleaning products. My kids always think the water flosser is so fun to squirt!

Mouth and Teeth Craft

SUPPLIES:

Mouth Craft Template (Available to download at the end of this post)
Pink paper
Scissors
Glue
Marshmallows
Red crayon or maker

DIRECTIONS:

Print the template out on peach or pink paper.

Fold on the dotted line and draw a tongue on the bottom portion of the mouth.

Glue on 10 marshmallows on the top and 10 marshmallows on the bottom for primary teeth/baby teeth

Glue on 16 marshmallows on the top and 16 marshmallows on the bottom for adult teeth

For more information on dental care, find a trusted provider, or find out if your toothbrush earned the ADA Seal of Acceptance visit the ADA website.