Goal: Children will understand what tooth healthy foods are and that they keep our teeth healthy, and will eat tooth healthy foods at school and at home.
Big Bites: Things You Should Know
Tooth healthy foods are low in sugar and high in fiber and nutrients, such as fruits, vegetables, cheeses, meat, beans, and whole grain breads and pastas.
Tooth unhealthy foods are starchy and high in sugar, such as crackers, dried fruit, chips, and cookies, as well as juice and soda pop.
Eating “tooth unhealthy foods” creates an acid that attacks teeth.
Continual snacking on tooth unhealthy foods or drinking juice or soda causes repeated acid attacks. Repeated acid attacks cause cavities.
It is important to eat meals and snacks at regularly scheduled times. This reduces the number of acid attacks on teeth.
Limit “tooth unhealthy foods” for special days or occasions.
When a pregnant woman snacks frequently to ease nausea or other pregnancy issues, encourage her to rinse with water after eating.
Send home paper and crayons or colored pencils for children to draw a picture of a tooth healthy food they eat at home.
Display children’s drawings of tooth healthy foods on a bulletin board or display wall.
Look for pictures of foods in magazines for children to cut out and glue onto large pieces of butcher paper. Label each food Tooth Healthy or Not Tooth Healthy or help them sort to make two different collages.
Include pretend tooth healthy foods in the dramatic play area of your classroom or turn your dramatic play center into a healthy foods store or market. (See Healthy Food Market page 52.)
Print the names of tooth healthy foods onto 3” × 5” cards and add them to your writing center for children to copy or use in writing stories. Add a line drawing or picture of the food to help children understand the meaning.
At Meals and Snacks
Establish a regular menu of tooth healthy foods for meals and snacks in your classroom.
Ask: “What is the tastiest tooth healthy food on your plate?”
When introducing a new healthy food at meals let children know what it is. Talk about what kind of food it is, what it tastes like, what its texture is, and that it is healthy for their teeth. Model trying this food.
While Brushing Teeth
Use both old and new songs to reinforce concepts about oral health. Changing songs adds new interest to your daily routines.
During Transitions
For individual transitions, ask each child: “What is a type of tooth healthy foods that starts with the letter (_)?” (Example: T—tomato) “What is a tooth healthy food that is the color (___)?” (Example: red—apple) “What is a fruit that is shaped like a (_____)?” (Example: sphere—orange).
While a group is waiting to go outside or to come into the classroom, sing “Old McDonald Had A Food Farm” from the Circle Time Lesson on page 50. Replace animals and animal sounds in the song with foods and food sounds.
