Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Oral Health Program Oral Health Tooth Safety Second Grade

Let’s talk a little about our teeth and tooth safety…

It is important to understand that our permanent teeth are meant to last a lifetime!

Right now you have some baby teeth and a few new permanent teeth. Your first permanent tooth is called the six-year molar. Do we have to lose a baby tooth before we get our six- year molars? No. It comes in behind our baby teeth.

Our baby teeth hold the spaces for our permanent teeth, so that when they are ready, they will come in straight. The permanent teeth are white, the baby teeth are gray. Moss, Growing Up Cavity Free: A Parent's Guide To Prevention, Quintessence Publishing Co., 1993

As you get older, you will lose all 20 of your baby teeth and end up with 32 permanent teeth as a grown-up.

Our teeth work very hard everyday… So we must take good care of them, because we need them for some very important jobs. Let’s name some of the jobs our teeth do …

Our teeth help us chew our food!

Our teeth help us talk! They work with our tongue, lips and cheeks to help us say words correctly. Try saying this tongue twister… “Sally sells seashells by the seashore.” Now try saying it without using your teeth! Don’t you sound silly?

Our teeth help us look nice --- they give us a pretty smile!

Now let’s talk about some of the ways we can care for our teeth! Brush after meals and at bedtime. Use toothpaste with fluoride. Floss. Eat good (healthy) foods. Visit the dentist two times per year. office.microsoft.com/clipart

When should you brush your teeth? After eating After eating At bedtime At bedtime Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Oral Health Program

How do you floss your teeth? Use 18” of floss Use 18” of floss Leave an inch or two to work with Leave an inch or two to work with Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Oral Health Program

How do you floss your teeth? Gently follow curves of teeth Slide floss up and down a few times Go below the gumline Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services Oral Health Program

Can you think of another way we can care for our teeth? The problem with teeth is that if we injure them, they won’t heal on their own, like a scraped knee will heal. If we chip a tooth, it won’t repair itself. The dentist will have to help! Mestman, Herman, What To Do For Healthy Teeth Protect them from injuries!

It is our job to watch out for ourselves when it comes to tooth safety. Usually there are no warning signs. An accident can happen very quickly and the only way to help prevent one is to know some safety tips!

Let’s talk about some things that you can do at home. Prevent Falls - Be careful not to leave - Be careful not to leave toys on the floor. toys on the floor. - Don’t run up and down - Don’t run up and down the stairs. the stairs. - Walk, don’t run on wet floors, pavement or around the pavement or around the swimming pool. swimming pool.

Don’t use your teeth for jobs they aren’t intended to do, such as: Cracking nuts Holding pencils and pens Opening bottles, barrettes or hairpins Crunching ice

Be careful on the playground… Walk safely around swings and teeter-totters. Take care when climbing on playground equipment such as a trampoline or monkey bars.

When playing sports… Wear a mouth protector for sports such as football, baseball, wrestling, soccer or hockey. Watch where you throw a ball, and never throw your bat during baseball. Obey all traffic laws when bicycling. Be careful on slick snow and ice in the winter.

Be especially careful at the drinking fountain. Many children have had a tooth broken because someone in line behind them pushed or shoved. Don’t push or shove.

In the car… Be aware of sudden stops. ALWAYS wear a seat belt.

It is important that you know what to do if you have a tooth injury (accident)...

If you chip a tooth, the dentist can usually repair it… Small chips can easily be smoothed off.

Bigger chips can sometimes be fixed with tooth colored filling material. Large chip in a permanent tooth. Large chip repaired with filling material.

Teeth that are badly chipped may need to be covered with a crown (sometimes called a cap). Large chip in a permanent tooth. Large chip repaired with a crown.

If an accident causes a tooth to be loosened, the first thing to do is… Tell your parent, teacher or the school nurse. The grown-up may be able to push the tooth back into place. Then call the dentist right away. The dentist will take an x-ray (tooth picture) to see if there is damage.

What if a tooth is knocked completely out? Find the tooth and pick it up. Go right away to a parent, teacher or nurse. Do NOT clean the tooth off or touch the wound site. Keep the tooth wet. Put it in a glass of cool water, milk or a wet cloth. Call the dentist right away. You should be seen within 30 minutes. The dentist will put the tooth back into place if it is possible. Cleaning it may remove important gum tissue that helps the tooth grow in the mouth.

Let’s review what we learned… Can anyone tell me: Two reasons why you need your teeth? Two ways you can injure (hurt) your teeth? Two ways the dentist can fix an injured (hurt) tooth? What you should do if a tooth is knocked completely out?

If you lose a permanent tooth, another one will NOT grow back in its place! If you lose a permanent tooth, another one will NOT grow back in its place!

So remember… Take good care of them... Our permanent teeth are meant to last our whole life!

Thank you for listening and keep brushing! An additional recommended resource for viewing: Dudley’s Classroom Adventure (ADA). Call (816) for loan information from the UMKC dental library Photos: Microsoft product box shots reprinted with permission from Microsoft Corporation. All photos obtained from office.microsoft.com/clipart unless otherwise noted. This presentation has been adapted and used with permission from the Dental Health Program developed by the Clay County Public Health Center.