Looking after our teeth

Today in PSHE, Year 2 continued their learning about hygiene, with a special focus on keeping our teeth clean and healthy.

We began by talking about how many children are starting to lose their milk teeth and grow their grown-up teeth. The children were fascinated to learn that we only get one set of adult teeth, so it is very important that we look after them carefully.

The class shared lots of great ideas about how we can keep our teeth healthy, including:

• Brushing our teeth twice a day

• Visiting the dentist

• Using mouthwash

• Flossing

We used mirrors to look closely at our teeth and noticed that we have different types of teeth. We talked about how:

• Some teeth are for cutting food

• Some teeth are for grinding food
  These different jobs help us to chew our food so it is easier to swallow and digest.

We also learnt how to brush our teeth gently and effectively. We talked about how we can tell if we are brushing too hard, if the toothbrush bristles are squashed flat, we are pressing too much! Healthy brushing means the bristles stay standing up.

The children learnt that brushing in small, gentle circles helps remove bits of food and plaque from our teeth more carefully than scrubbing back and forth.

To practise this, the children took part in a fun activity using pretend teeth covered in glitter. They carefully brushed the glitter away using small circular movements, just like they should when brushing their real teeth at home.