(Introduceyourself)

TodaywearegoingtotalkaboutBrushingYourTeeth!!

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Whatcausescavities?(Acceptallanswers– sugar,candy,notbrushingyourteeth,pop,notgoingtothedentist,etc.)(Ifyoungerchildrenhavetroublewiththetermcavities,askwhatisbadforyourteeth)

Verygood.Allofthoseanswersareright!Butwewillalsotalkaboutwhathappensinyourmouth.

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Sugarfromfoodsyoueatorliquidsyoudrinkmixwithgermsthatareinyourmouthandformaacid.Theacidgetsonyourteethandcausescavities.Butyoucanpreventcavities.

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Hereisapicture- see,(pointtothepictures)hereiscandythathasSugarinitandhereareGermsthatareinyourmouth,addthemtogetheranditequalsAcid

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(Continuetopointtopictures)Acidgetsonyourhealthytoothandthatequalsaholeinyourtooth.Aholeisacavity.Cavitiescancauseyourtoothtohurtortohaveaninfection.Whenyouhaveacavity,youhavetogotothedentistwhowillfixit.

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(Read)Germsonmyteeth?Eww!(havethechildrenallrepeatitafteryouorjustsayEWW)

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Howarecavitiesprevented?Howdoyoustopcavities?(Takeallanswers…brushyourteeth,gotothedentist,don’teatcandy,don’tdrinkpop.Helpthemcomeupwithanswers,ifnecessary)

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Sofirstyouneedtolimitthesugarthatyoueat.Whathassugarinit?(Takeallanswers)Howaboutmilk?(MostwillshoutNO)Yes,milkdoeshavesugarinit,butmilkisgoodforyou,isn’tit?(AllwillshoutYES)Youneedtodrinkmilk.Doesthismeanyoucannevereatacookieagain?(allshoutoutNO!)Howaboutcandy?(again,NO!)That’sright,onlyonceinawhile,oraspecialtreat.

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Next,youneedtobrushyourteethtwotimesadayfortwominuteseachtime.Doyouallbrushyourteeth?(allshoutYES!)Doesyourmomoryourdadhelpyou?(MostwillshoutNO!)Guesswhat,yourparentsshouldhelpyou,soyougeteverypartofeverytoothbrushed,eventheonesthatarehardtoreach.

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Whenyoubrushyourteeth,justuseasmallamountoftoothpaste,thesizeofapea.Ifyouhavebabybrothersorsisters,theyonlyusetoothpastethesizeofagrainofrice.Thenbrushyourteethincircles.(Pretendtoholdabrushandbrushincircles)Everyonedothis.Getallyourteeth,inthefrontandinthebackandintheinsideofyourteethandtheoutsideofyourteeth.Brushfortwowholeminutes– that’salongtime,isn’tit?ThenspittheextratoothpasteinthesinkandSMILE.

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Sincetwominutesisalongtime,youcanuseatimerlikethisone.Oryourparentscanputatimeroragameorasongontheirphonestomakebrushingfortwominutesgofasterandmorefun.(Pretendtosingtwinkle,twinkle,littlestarwhilepretendingtobrush,makeitsoundfunnybecauseyouwouldhaveabrushinyourmouth)Youwillhavetosingthatsongtwicetolastfor2wholeminutes.

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Thenyouneedtogotothedentisttwotimesperyear.(Sincesomechildrenhavetroublefindingadentist,don’taskaboutthis,butdotakecommentsfromchildren)Dentistsarenice,theytakegoodcareofyourteeth.

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Youneedtohavefluoride.Doyouknowwhatfluorideis?Itislikeamagicshieldforyourteeth.Itprotectsyourteethfromtheacidandmakesyourteethverystrong.Doyoudrinkwateroutofthefaucetofthesink?(Takeanswers)That’sthebestwatertodrink,ithasfluorideinit.Mostbottledwaterdoesnothavefluorideinit,sothatisnotthebestwatertodrink.

Youalsogetfluoridepaintedonyourteethwithatinybrushwhenyougotothedentistorthedoctor.Doyourememberhavingyourteethbrushedjustlikefingernailpolish?

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Whataresomehealthyfoods?Namesomefruits.(Takeallanswers)Howaboutvegetables?(Takeanswers)Howaboutmeats?(Takeanswersbutsuggestcheese,peanuts,too)Howaboutcookies,cakes,candy?(AllwillshoutNO)Butyoucanhavethemonceinawhile,can’tyou(AllwillshoutYES)Sometimes,itisbesttohavesomethingsugaryonlyatmealtimesorsnacktimes,thenrinseyourmouthwithwaterorbrushyourteethandnomoresweetsuntilanothertime.

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Soremember…howmanytimesdoyoubrushyourteetheveryday(Allwillshoutout2).Howlongdoyoubrushyourteeth?(Allwillshout2minutes).Howmuchtoothpastedoyouuse?(Theywillshoutpea-sizeorhelpthem).Howmuchsugaryfoodanddrinksdoyouhave?(Helpthemwith“limited”,“specialtreats”,“atmealtime”).Andgotovisityourdentisttwotimesperyear.Thenyousmileallthetimebecauseyouwillhaveniceteeth.Everybody,letmeseeyousmile!

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Sowhenyougethomeyoucangrabatoothbrush,sometoothpaste,atimerandGETBRUSHING!

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Iamgoingtopass outtheBrushingandFlossingchart.Bringthishomeandgiveittoyourmom,dad,orcaregiver.Askyourparentforpermissiontohangitupinyourhouse.Wherecouldyouhangit?(Answerscouldbeputonrefrigeratorwithamagnet,tapeonwall,tapeonbathroommirror).

Writethedateofthemonthinthetopleftbox.

Inthemorning,brushyourteethandcolorthestar.Intheevening,brushandflossyourteeth,andcolorthetwostars.

Thisishowyoucanremembertobrushyourteeth!

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Wewantallchildrenin(nameyourtownorschool)tohavenocavities.WewantallchildreninMinnesota(ornameyourstate)tohavenocavities.Youcanhelpusbyhavingnocavitiesinyourmouth.

Whatquestionsdoyouhave?

(Plananactivitytofinishthediscussion,agameorpuzzleorpicturetocolor)

Note:Thereareanumberofactivitiesyoucoulddotoreinforcethemessages. Youcanfindthematwww.crushcavities.com/educatorsAge3-4Usethecoloringpage,orthematchinggameAges4-7UsetheFluorideMazewiththeBrushingDottoDottoreinforcethekeymessages.Ages5-7Distributethepuzzlesandallowthechildrentocutoutthepiecesandassembleit.Thenaskthemtoexplainbackthemessageofthepuzzle.Whiletheyareworking,showSlides4and5,sotheycanseetheanswers.

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