Kindergarten students from École Our Lady of the Rosary School got to sit in the dentist chair during a visit to the Aurora Dental Group Tuesday.
The children learned about the basic essentials of keeping their teeth clean, how to brush and floss as well as what foods to eat after a meal to help keep their teeth clean.
With a massive yellow toothbrush, dental assistant Debbie Bone-Dyck showed the children how to brush their teeth in circles and how to point the bristles downwards to the gum line.
As the children counted their teeth they realized just how important it was to clean them properly.
They learned they should brush their teeth after each meal for two minutes, one minute for the top teeth, one minute for the bottom teeth.
If they can’t brush their teeth after eating, the students learned they should eat cheese.
“Cheese has an enzyme in it that helps prevent tooth decay,” Bone–Dyck said.
Some of the worst snacks children can eat are fruit roll ups and other sticky candy. This is because it sticks to teeth and is high in sugar.
“A lot of the new fruit roll ups and sticky fruits are very high in sugar and high in fructose. They stick on the teeth. It doesn’t come off so it is staying there for long periods of time as opposed to a real apple or a real strawberry,” Bone-Dyck said.
Children want to keep their teeth clean as they eat a lot of other soft foods which can get stuck between their teeth.
The visit was a great educational experience. They learned the importance of not only keeping their teeth clean, but how visiting the dentist is not a scary thing.
Bone-Dyck said most of the children at their age have visited a dentist before. She said it is recommended that children have their first dentist appointment at two or three years old,so they know visiting the dentist is not scary and is meant to be fun.
“A lot of times we do a happy visit for a two year old,” Bone–Dyck said. “We give them a ride in a chair, kind of what we did today and show them exactly what is going on.”
Out of everything the children learned, Bone-Dyck said she hopes the children remember that dentists are here to help and there is no need to be afraid.
reporter@sylvanlakenews.com