Earlier this year we made a visit to Little Minds Daycare where my son attends. 

It was a very fun, interative and successful morning with the Tamariki. 

We started off with talking about what happens when you go to visit the Dentist or the Oral Health Therapist. We then did an activity using items that you would find in the Supermarket and chatted about whether this would make the tooth ‘happy’ or ‘sad’. We also read the book by Sam Smith ‘Don’t scare the Dentist’. 

We then did some activities with the tamariki. The children carried on the theme of ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ tooth, arranging pictures of food and drink in the ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ category and gluing them in. Then we did some brushing of plastic teeth and decorated a tooth with glitter and other assortments. The children had a blast. 

Lots of parents gave us feedback. They said that their children had been much more enthusiastic about brushing their teeth and have been really aware of what foods and drinks they eat. 

Remember to brush your children's teeth twice a day, and up to the age of 8 years old before they can start doing it themselves. Make sure that they are using a toothpaste 1000ppm or above. Try and see a Dentist or Oral Health Therapist every 6months.