Year Two had a visit from some dental students from Newcastle University. The boys and girls learned all about how to look after their teeth and why regular visits to the dentist are important to keep our teeth healthy and strong.
The children took part in four different activities to help them to learn about how to look after their teeth.
At the first station, the boys and girls looked at different foods and identified which foods are healthy and which foods are not so good for our teeth. They looked at how much sugar was in some foods and talked about why these foods should not be eaten too often. They also found out that to protect our teeth it is better to eat sugary foods with a meal, rather than as a snack.
The second activity was to read a story all about the ‘sugar bugs’ that live in our mouths. Year Two found out that we have ‘sugar bugs’ (bacteria) in our mouths that live off the food that stays in our mouths when we eat. This can cause tooth decay and make our teeth hurt. They found out that the best way to get rid of these ‘sugar bugs’ is to brush our teeth twice a day and to make sure we visit the dentist regularly so that they can help us to look after our teeth.
At the next station, the boys and girls got to dress up as dentists. They looked at x-rays of people’s teeth and looked to see if they could spot signs of decay. They also found out about some of the tools that dentists use to help them to look after teeth including drills and mirrors that help them to see inside people’s mouths. The children enjoyed looking at their own teeth in the mirror and checking they had a nice clean smile.
Finally, the children learned the best technique for brushing their teeth. They found out that we should brush in small circles and make sure that we cover every surface of the tooth. Did you know that we should not rinse out our mouths after we brush our teeth? If we rinse our mouths out with water or mouthwash after brushing we rinse all of the fluoride from the toothpaste off our teeth. Leaving it on helps to make our teeth stronger. The boys and girls practised their tooth brushing technique on large mouths and they used a timer to make sure they brushed for a full two minutes.
Article 24 – We all have the right to information which keeps us safe and healthy.
