Dental Hygiene Program For Children in Day Care

A child's good dental habit starts at home and ittoddlers can see you brush and floss every after
should be continued in day care centers. That ismeal. You can effortlessly teach them the proper
why part of the daily activity in day care is toothbrushing techniques by brushing your teeth with
brushing including some lessons on dental care.them.
Fluorinated toothpaste must be introduced toHere are some lessons and activities that you can
children when they are already two to threeimplement regarding dental health.
years old. They must brush their teeth twice a•In your lesson plan, include topics on proper
day by using only water and toothbrush with softdental hygiene. Lessons on what food to eat and
bristles. They must start visiting the dentist bythe benefits of having healthy teeth, and how
the time they turned one. Only pea-sizedcavities are developed. The role of dentists and
toothpaste must be used by the toddlersthe benefits of a regular visit to a dental clinic are
together with a soft-bristled toothbrush. The dayuseful topics for the toddlers.
care provider must supervise the brushing activity•You can read great stories with the
of the children to ensure they will not swallow thecharacters who love tooth brushing.
toothpaste. But if a child does not know how to•You can visit websites of some toothpaste
spit yet, he can use a non-fluorinated one.brands to receive free kits on dental health for
Usually, toddlers resist brushing their teeth. Itthe children under your care. The kit includes
entails a lot of effort for them to practicecurriculum information, teaching aids, handouts,
brushing teeth by themselves or even attemptingand dental activities.
to assist them. The following are tips to•Set up a good puppet show which
encourage a toddler to brush.demonstrates a good dental habit. You can put
•Use electric toothbrush designed with differentdental items in the show for the children to play
colors and cartoon characters they like better.as dentists. Dental items could be toothbrush,
Children will enjoy using them, at the same time,dental mirrors, white smocks, and many others.
are more effective as compared with theThese dental health lessons and activities would
standard toothbrush.encourage children to have healthy dental habits
•The suggested time of tooth brushing is twoand prevent tooth decay. Do not expect that
minutes. To achieve this, let the toddlers singthey can already clean adequately their teeth.
while brushing or you may use musical timerThey can brush unsupervised when they are
which is set for two minutes.reached the age of six or seven years old.
•You can give incentives to toddlers by givingTherefore, after every time they practice tooth
them colorful stickers after a successful brushingbrushing, you brush them thoroughly as a follow
activity.up. With this, they will be independent in learning a
•Be a model in providing care for your teeth asgood dental habit.