From dressing up as cowboys or princesses to turning french fries into walrus tusks, parents will do just about anything to make their kids smile (or finish their dinner). Adding fun and humor to daily routines will pique their interest and help avoid meltdowns – and oral health is no exception! Try these games and activities to entertain and educate your child on the importance of proper dental health.
The Best Teeth Games For Kids
Add Music to the Moment
Music makes everything better – use it to your advantage when teaching your child how to brush by:
- Playing their favorite upbeat song for 2 to 3 minutes
- Singing their favorite nursery rhyme
- Or making up a personalized song
However you incorporate music into their brushing routine, make your child an integral part of the performance. Make a brushing show with your child starring as the superstar on stage! The more fun they have, the more they'll want to brush their pearly whites.
Eggs-Periments
Fun fact: packed with calcium, eggshells are very similar to teeth. These mini science experiments use hard-boiled eggs to show your child how fluoride and food acids impact teeth:
- Place one egg in soda and another in water for 8 to 13 hours, then rinse and feel the shells. The soda-soaked egg should feel noticeably softer than that in water
- Do the same with other liquids like milk, vinegar, and orange juice. The acids in all these concoctions turn the shells (and your teeth) soft
- Apply thick stripes of toothpaste on an egg and keep it on for four days. After rinsing, soak the egg in soda overnight. You and your child will notice how the areas with toothpaste are harder than those without
Board Games
Board games provide classic fun for the whole family. Create a DIY game about children's oral health curiosity by following these steps:
- Gather 2 dice, hourglass timers, flashcards, a large sheet of construction paper, and a pencil
- Write the question and answer of interesting and little-known dental trivia on the flashcards
- Create a path of squares in a dental themed shape (smile, toothbrush, the tooth fairy, etc.)
- Roll the dice, move to the corresponding square, and answer a question
- Get the question right and keep moving along
The player who lands on the last square and answers the question correctly is your dental trivia winner.
Other Game Options
Whether you make them yourself or purchase in the app store, these options help make going to the dentist fun and not frightening:
- If your child is age four and up, have them put on their dentist hat as they try to locate the sore tooth of the crocodile before getting their little hands chomped in this fun and easy-to-play tabletop game
- Search "dentist" on your device or in an app store to find a variety of oral health games that will teach as your child touches the screen
By engaging your child with games and activities, you'll create fun memories together and inspire them to take responsibility for their oral health – and isn't that any parent's dental health dream?
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This article is intended to promote understanding of and knowledge about general oral health topics. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your dentist or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition or treatment.
