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Early Years: Oral Hygiene

This lesson supports children to learn how to brush their teeth and to understand that we brush our teeth at least twice a day to avoid tooth decay.

Scroll down to find out more and to download the resources.

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Learning objectives

All students will:

  • Understand how to brush their own teeth effectively
  • Understand why it is important to brush our teeth
  • Understand the link between sugar and tooth decay

Background Information

Dental health is extremely important; over 23% of children in England have tooth decay and it is the main reason for children aged 5 to 9 being admitted to hospital. Tooth decay is caused by bacteria within the plaque.

The good news is that tooth decay can be prevented by limiting the number of times we eat foods and drinks with added sugar, brushing twice a day with fluoride toothpaste and regularly seeing the dentist to check the health of our teeth and gums.

This lesson plan will support you to introduce the concept of oral hygiene to children and explain how to brush teeth effectively.

Activities

Main activity:
  • Mirror Exercise and Tooth Brushing Mime
Main Activity video
Extension activities:
  • Tooth Brushing Chart

Curriculum links

Communication and language development:

  • Listening and attention
  • Understanding
  • Speaking

Physical development:

  • Health and self-care

Expressive arts and design:

  • Exploring and using media and materials

Supporting Materials

Teacher sheets
EY Oral hygiene teacher guidance
Student worksheets
SW1 Healthy teeth progress chart
Student handouts
SH1 Picture of teeth