Dental hygiene is incredibly important, as we all know. There is nothing more dazzling on the human body than a gorgeous set of pearly whites. If you want your kids to have these pearly whites, though, you will need to get them on the right track as far as dental hygiene is concerned as early as possible. While you obviously cannot teach an infant or toddler proper hygiene, you can actually begin teaching them these valuable concepts during preschool. Here are a few preschool activities you can do for children to teach them about dental care.

Match 'Em Up

Take construction paper and cut out basic shapes representing dental care, such as a tooth, a toothbrush, a sparkle (basically a star design), and any other object you may want to include. Then, put the items in a pile and let your children pick out the proper items and put them in the proper order. For example, you can have a paper tube of toothpaste that they would pick and "use" on the toothbrush. They can then brush the tooth with the toothbrush. When they are finished, congratulate them, tell them that the tooth is "clean", and put the sparkle on it to show them. This is a good hands-on activity to introduce them to dental care.



Write a Story

Take some construction paper and perhaps a scrapbook and make a story about dental care to show your children. Use basic shapes and lots of color to keep your kids interest, and tell the story in an engaging manner while encouraging them to participate. For example, you can make the main character a tooth and have him travel with his friends (a toothbrush, floss, etc.).

Charades

Gather the preschool group around and tell them that they are going to learn about teeth. Then, do charades that represent the steps of brushing the teeth. You can start off by saying something like, "Everyone point to their teeth!" They will then point to their teeth. Then, pretend you are picking up a toothbrush and get them to do the same. Then, apply toothpaste and "brush" your teeth. They will follow along and get into the process (as well as stay entertained throughout).

These are just a few examples of preschool activities you can use to teach your preschool kids about dental care. The limit is really on your own imagination. Just know that preschool children, on a whole, are old enough to start learning about dental care and the responsibility that comes with it, even if they may not be old enough to do it on their own. Good luck!