Marshmallow Teeth and Tooth Decay

It is National Children's Dental Month but I needed to review good dental habits anyway with my children. It never hurts to review these important steps.

First, we looked at some printouts I found on the American Dental Association website and we identified the names of the different teeth in our mouth.

Then we made a model of our mouth. To make the model we used cardboard from a cereal box, pencil, scissors, glue, mini marshmallows, and a red marker.

You can just draw an oval on the inside of the cereal box. I used a bowl to help me with the curves.

Cut out the oval and fold it in half. This is the mouth.

Next, add small drops of glue and stick on the mini-marshmallow teeth.

We added 10 teeth to the bottom and 10 teeth to the top.

Rachel especially enjoyed putting on her teeth. She kept sneaking marshmallows into her mouth instead of putting them on her model!

Here's Nicholas' finished model of a mouth.

While the glue was drying I talked to the children some more about teeth in general as well as proper ways to floss, brush, and use their oral rinse.

Finally the glue was dry and the kids flossed their model teeth. What a fun way to practice!

I have not been able to get my three year old to floss her own teeth. I think it was really helpful for her to actually see and practice the proper techniques for flossing.

After flossing, they brushed their model teeth.

Nicholas thought we were done but I was still figuring out what to do next. He wandered off and I found some green gel icing in the pantry. Hee hee! A little later I called Nicholas back to the room and informed him that his model had developed tooth decay! Oh no, a cavity!

That will require a trip to the dentist for drilling.

He removed the decayed part of his tooth and filled it back in with white icing. Yes, I see the irony in using such sugary treats to demonstrate proper dental care but hey, it works!

Of course, Rachel insisted on having tooth decay too just so she could play with the drill.

The kids really enjoyed this project and I'm amazed at how much they benefited from being able to practice the flossing and brushing techniques on a model mouth!