Kids are habitual of eating many things that might be hazardous for their teeth or oral hygiene. Moreover, sticking to brush teeth twice a day or avoiding chocolates or similar such food options are not really followed by kids. However, some activities that you can do to let kids know the importance of dental hygiene are mentioned hereunder.
Egg Activity
You can boil an egg and show the hard shell to your child. Make the kid understand how the hard shell protects the inside of the egg. These egg shells can be compared with your teeth. The experiment is simple. Place the egg in vinegar and ask the potential effects of the liquid on the shell. Keep it in the jar of vinegar for a few days, observing every day the changes on the shell.
When the child goes through the everyday destruction on the shells due to the vinegar, it will help the child understand the importance of not cleaning; flossing and brushing the teeth effectively but also eschew eating things that are harmful to teeth.
Painting Activity
In this experiment you would need yellow construction paper. You simply need to cut those papers into tooth shapes and showing them to the kids, tell them how their teeth would become yellow if not cleaned regularly.
You can ask your kids to color them white using paint. Here, paint can be considered as toothpaste. Thus, you will have shown the importance of having white teeth using toothpaste.
Apple Activity
Take an apple and depict it as a tooth in front of your child. Poke a hole in the apple using a small stick. Depict the hole as a small cavity in your teeth, having formed due to irregular brushing. Then let the apple be for a few days.
After a few days, as the apple turns brown and black you can tell your kids of how their teeth would look similar if they do not brush regularly and have cavities formed in their teeth.
Dramatic Play
As the name suggests, you will have to conduct a small drama pretending your house or room to be a dentist’s clinic. All you need is chair, toothbrush, mirror etc. Here, the child plays the role of the dentist and you are the patient. Simply lie back on the bed and let the child examine your teeth. This will make the child understand the importance of visiting the dentist regularly and the different forms of basic oral dental problems.
Summary:
It is important to make them realize about dental care and the issues if the oral hygiene is not maintained. Why should one care for their teeth, or the role of cleaning teeth in everyday life should be the knowledge that parents should give to their kids.
