Tooth Craft to Get Students Excited About Dental Health

February is such a fun month because we can celebrate Groundhog Day, Valentine’s Day, President’s Day, and Black History month! Let’s not forget that it’s also Dental Health Month. Parents and teachers everywhere are showing their students how important it is to keep our teeth clean and healthy. I’ve created a fun Brush Your Teeth Craft for you to use alongside any of your dental health lessons!

What is Dental Health Month?

National Children’s Dental Health Month occurs in February of each year. It is a great opportunity to show young children the benefits of good oral hygiene and health. This includes promoting good dental healthy habits such as brushing their teeth and going to the dentist regularly. Starting these healthy practices early helps kids start on the path to a lifetime of healthy gums and teeth.

How Can I Celebrate Dental Health?

Whether you are a parent or a teacher, you can promote good oral hygiene by talking to your kids about brushing their teeth appropriately and daily. You may even consider inviting a dentist to visit the school to speak with your class. This sometimes helps children who are afraid of the dentist overcome their fear. We used to have a dentist in the area that would come visit preschools with his little tooth and toothbrush puppets. The kids got to take turns brushing the tooth on all sides. They loved it! Ask around your local dentist offices, you might be surprised.

To go along with fun lessons about teeth and gums, you can have your students complete this simple tooth craft! The craft is easy prep for adults. All you have to do is copy or print the templates onto colored paper and cut the shapes out. Your little ones can do the cutting or you can just task them with gluing the pieces together. They will love seeing their final product hanging up for everyone to see!

Books I Can Read To Teach Dental Health

When I first started browsing for books about teeth, I thought they would be hard to find. I was pleasantly surprised by the variety of dental health books out there geared towards kids. I’m going to list a few of my favorites below!

The Tooth Book by Dr. Seuss

Pete the Cat and The Lost Tooth by James Dean

What If You Had Animal Teeth by Sandra Markle

Tia Visits the Dentist by Trish Richardson

The Tooth Book by Mark Bacera

The Berenstain Bears Visit the Dentist by Stan & Jan Berenstain

The kids love these silly, informative and interesting stories each year when we learn how to keep our smiles nice, bright and healthy. I hope your little ones enjoy them too. We typically read a story a day for a whole week, sometimes even the whole month. Then, we add this tooth craft in to let students chat about dental health while they work. The kids always love seeing their cute tooth completed.

Other Ways to Use This Craft

Besides using this craftivity to complement an amazing lesson about dental health, the tooth can be used to teach little ones about the letter t. The large curves of the tooth make for great practice with cutting and fine motor skills, perfect for preschool age students. Once the craft is complete, it can be hung on a bulletin board or as a hallway display where your kids can see them proudly hung.

I hope your celebration and introduction to dental health this year is a success and your students enjoy making their own tooth craft!