Dental Health
Month is a great time to schedule your child's dental checkup.
February is Dental Health Month. During this month, dentists and teachers focus on educating children and adults alike on the necessity of good oral hygiene. This does not need to be an unpleasant area of study. Using games and enjoyable activities to teach the fundamentals of dental health can make your audience smile and give them the skills to safeguard that smile.
Tooth-Brushing Contest
Work with a dentist to obtain some red disclosing tablets. These tablets will show missed spots after students brush their teeth. Review proper toothbrushing techniques. Tell students that you are going to have a toothbrushing contest. Pass out new toothbrushes and tubes of toothpaste to all. Instruct students to brush their teeth. Next, have each contestant chew up a red disclosing tablet. Ask all to smile. Allow a bit of time for giggling, as their smiles will be spotted with red wherever they missed plaque. Award prizes to the three individuals with the least red on their teeth. Have students rebrush their teeth and rinse well to remove remnants of the disclosing tablets.
Oral Hygiene Poetry Contest
In 32 words, students must write and illustrate a poem that focuses on something they have learned during Dental Health Month. Hang these poems up in the classroom with their illustrations and ask students from a neighboring class to anonymously vote for their top-three favorite poems. Award prizes to the winners. Be sure to have students read all of their poems aloud to one another.
Word Searches/Crossword Puzzles
Word searches and puzzles are another way to have fun while reinforcing learning objectives and vocabulary words. To turn these activities into contests, you can have students race to see who finishes first. One important stipulation for this type of race is that all work must be complete and correct in order to qualify as the winner.
Name Those Teeth
After reviewing all of the different types and names of the teeth, pass out worksheets with illustrations of a full set of teeth on them. Instruct students to name all the teeth. Award first prize to the first student to correctly label all of the teeth.
Posters and Cartoon Characters
Ask your students to create posters and cartoon characters that educate others about the importance of Dental Health Month and good oral hygiene. Hold a contest for the best poster or cartoon character. You can add special categories so that there are multiple ways to win. Categories might include best illustrated, most informative and most humorous.
Tags: Dental Health Month, Health Month, Dental Health, their teeth, Award prizes, brush their, brush their teeth
