Use egg cartons to show children how to care for their teeth. Place empty foam egg cartons upside-down in a bin or tub and place small candies between the bumps on the bottoms of the cartons. Explain to children that the bumps on the cartons represent teeth and the candies represent food being stuck in between the teeth. Provide kids with pieces of dental floss and encourage them to use the floss to remove the candies from the "teeth." Once they've removed the candies, offer them toothbrushes and toothpaste and have them practice brushing the "teeth."
Develop an understanding of foods that are healthy for teeth with this interactive activity. Cut a hole in the center of the bottom of a cardboard box and decorate around the hole to look like a mouth. Provide children with toy food or pictures of food and explain to them that Mr. Mouth only eats foods that are healthy for his teeth. Encourage children to select foods that are healthy for teeth; milk, yogurt, fruits and meats, for example and have them feed the foods to Mr. Mouth. Place your hand inside the box and if a child feeds a food that isn't healthy for teeth to Mr. Mouth, such as hard candy and caramels, push the food out back out of the hole.
Use music as a means of teaching the importance of dental health. While singing a dental health song, invite children to use their fingers to pretend they are brushing their teeth. This song is sung to the tune of "Jingle Bells."
"Brush your teeth,
Brush your teeth.
Give your teeth a treat.
Brush up and down and all around,
To keep them clean and neat.
Brush them once,
Brush them twice,
Brush three times a day.
Brush up and down and all around.
Keep cavities away."
Children's literature can serve as another tool to teach preschool children about taking care of their teeth. Stock your classroom library with titles that are based on dental health, such as "What to Expect When You Go to the Dentist" by Heidi Eisenberg Murkoff, "Brush Your Teeth Please" by Leslie McGuire and "How Many Teeth" by Paul Showers. Read the books aloud to children. Talk about the importance of dental health before, during and after reading. Ask children questions that relate to the books to increase their comprehension of the topic.