Teeth for Keeps

February is Dental Health Month! Use this opportunity to instruct and encourage your homeschool students on the importance of taking care of their teeth. Here are a few suggested dental health activities to promote teeth for keeps.

Types of Teeth

There are four different types of teeth that help perform different jobs. They are incisors, cuspids, bicuspids, and molars. Incisors are located in the front of the mouth, these eight teeth have sharp, chisel-shaped crowns that cut food. There is one cuspid next to each lateral incisor. Cuspids are pointed to help tear food. There are four pairs of bicuspids located next to the cuspids. They tear and crush our food. There are four sets of three molars located at the back of our mouths. They help us by grinding our food.

Ask your students to try to locate the various teeth in their own mouths. By age thirteen or so, children should have a full set of permanent teeth.

Tooth Science

Demonstrate to your students how acids eat away the enamel on our teeth with this simple experiment. Place a raw egg in a clear glass of vinegar overnight. As your students to speculate what will happen. In the morning, you will see that the vinegar has slowly softened the shell in the same way acid softens tooth enamel. Explain to your students, when the enamel on our teeth is weakened, we get a toothache and a cavity.

Learn to Brush

Brush your teeth at a 45-degree angle with the bristles of the toothbrush toward the gums. Gently message the gums and roll the brush toward the edge of each tooth. Don’t forget to brush the back of your teeth. Use the same stroke, making sure the bristles go between each tooth.

Learn to Floss

Tear off a piece of dental floss about 16 inches long. Hold the floss between your thumbs and forefingers. Work the floss between the teeth and gently move it up and down. Be careful not to miss any teeth!

Happy Homeschooling!