Dental Activities for Elementary Students
Once your child is an elementary student, they will most likely be able to brush their teeth independently. However, according to Stanford Children’s Health, your child might need help flossing until they’re 8-10 years old. It's also an excellent time to talk about diet and how different foods can impact oral health. Some dental education activities you can try are:
Eat this, not that. Cut out different pictures of food from magazines. Invite your child to pick the healthy foods out of the bunch, and then explain why foods like candy or soda are bad for their teeth. Alternatively, you can give your child foods like broccoli and cauliflower florets, carrot coins, slices of apples, and nuts, and invite them to create happy faces with the food. After they’ve finished their creation, snap photos of these “happy foods” as a reminder of what foods are good for oral health and create happy teeth.
Waiting for the tooth fairy. Waiting for your child’s baby teeth to fall out can be frustrating for both you and your child, but you can make it fun by creating a personalized tooth fairy carrier for each time your child loses a tooth. Your child can ever write a note to the tooth fairy and then place it in the carrier along with the fallen tooth. This can be an activity you do until your child loses their last baby tooth. Explain to your child why taking care of their primary teeth by brushing and flossing is still essential, even though they eventually fall out.