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Activities for Preschoolers on Tooth Decay

Teaching young children about dental hygiene will promote healthy habits for years to come. When teaching preschoolers about tooth decay, you can prepare a variety of hands-on activities. Hands-on activities allow the young children a chance to have fun while building fine motor and social skills. With a few activity ideas and some supplies, you have all you need to teach preschoolers about taking care of their pearly whites.

Flossing
- Tell the preschoolers that one cause of tooth decay is not flossing. Show the children what dental floss is and give each child a couple of pieces. For a fun activity, give the children a sheet of paper and bowls of tempura paint. Have them dip the floss into the paint and rub it one the paper to create a "floss painting." Show the children how floss works between your teeth by painting your entire hand, including in between your fingers with washable tempura paint. Show the children how a toothbrush takes the paint off the outside but not the inside. Use floss to get the paint from between your fingers and explain how floss works the same way on plaque between your teeth.
Brushing
- Give each child an egg carton to practice the movements for brushing their teeth. Have the children turn the carton upside down with so the "knots" are facing up. The children can use toothbrushes to brush the teeth. For added fun, give the children a blue or green carton. Have them use the toothbrush to paint it with white paint to represent cleaning dirty plaque off teeth, which prevents tooth decay. Another idea is to have them use ribbon to pretend they are flossing the teeth.
Plaque
- Show the children how plaque can build up on your teeth and cause tooth decay using food coloring. Mix three or four drops of blue food coloring with a few tablespoons of water. Have one child swish the mixture in his mouth and spit it into a cup. All the plaque in his mouth will turn blue. Ask the child to brush his teeth and target the blue areas. Have a group discussion to talk about how much plaque was on his teeth before, after and the main areas of plaque buildup.
Cavities
- Use an apple to show the children how tooth decay will cause a cavity. Poke a hole in an unbruised apple using a nail and place the apple in a paper bag. Staple the bag closed and keep it out of direct sunlight for three weeks. After three weeks, cut the apple open to show the children how tooth decay works. The apple will be brown from the hole all the way to the center of the apple. Explain to the preschoolers that tooth decay will lead to cavities and this is the outcome.

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