Teaching your kids about good oral care can never come too early. By practicing good dental care from an early age, their risk of cavities and gum disease decreases enormously. One of the best ways for children to learn is through play. Luckily, Colgate has a list of 4 great dental activities you can do with your kids, teaching them about good oral care while having some fun! 

1. Happy Tooth Vs. Sad Tooth

This is a great game to teach your children about eating the right kinds of foods. Pull out several magazines and have the kids look for pictures of healthy foods that build strong teeth. This can include pictures of milk, fruits, vegetables, and different kinds of meat. Also, have them look for pictures of unhealthy foods like candy bars or soda. Next, pull out two small paper bags and draw a happy tooth on one and a sad tooth on the other. Have the kids place the food items in their matching bag. This is great opportunity to teach your kids about proper nutrition and how eating right will keep their teeth healthy. 

2. Learn to Floss

For this activity, make a template of your children’s 20 primary teeth (they will have 32 as an adult). Have them trace over the template using colored construction paper, and then cut out the shapes. Then thread a plastic child’s needle with floss, and show your kids how to run the floss through the tight spaces between the teeth. Thread the floss all the way through the paper teeth to make a necklace. Make sure to tie knots on the end to secure it. Discuss with your kids what flossing does and why it is so important for dental care. 

3. Tooth Wand

Another fun and engaging activity for the kids to learn more about happy teeth, is to make a happy tooth wand. For this one, cut a tooth shape out of white poster board and glue it to a craft stick. Let the kids get creative and decorate the tooth with pom poms, googly eyes, and yarn. Have the kids wave their wand around and sing silly songs about teeth. Ask them why their tooth is a happy tooth. 

4. Letters to the Tooth Fairy

One of the most exciting parts of your kid’s dental experience will be losing their teeth. For this activity, have the kids make special envelopes to put their teeth in, and leave under their pillows for the tooth fairy to come and claim. Have them draw a picture of what they think the tooth fairy looks like on the envelopes, and have them write a special note (or instructions) for the tooth fairy to stuck inside with their tooth. This is an opportunity to teach the kids about losing their baby teeth so they can grow big strong adult teeth. 

The best way for kids to learn something new is by play. Use these fun activities or come up with your own to help teach your kids about good dental health. Remember happy teeth are healthy teeth!