Homemade Toothpaste for Dental Health Month

     Friday we made some homemade toothpaste for Dental Health Month (February).  This recipe included water, baking soda, vanilla flavoring, and salt (optional).  I explained the purpose of each of the ingredients and then reminded the students that it wouldn't taste quite like the Sponge Bob Bubble Gum toothpaste they have at home--that it would mostly taste like baking soda--but that the baking soda in their toothpaste would help to clean and whiten their teeth.  Most of the students (those that followed the recipe) actually liked it; some of the ones who added too much or too little of one or more of the ingredients had quite an interesting tasting concoction on their hands.  Either way, it was a fun experience!   A local dentist's office in Portland also donated toothbrushes--the students got to go home with a brand new toothbrush, which just added to the fun!    I never knew a child could be so excited about a new toothbrush!
     We have been talking about teeth (the parts of a tooth, the names of the different teeth and where to find them in our mouths, how many baby  teeth we have vs. how many adult teeth we will have, etc.)  and how to keep our teeth clean and healthy (what foods are good/bad for our teeth, how many times a day to brush our teeth, as well as how to brush our teeth).  We also graphed how many teeth our class has lost to this point and played a guessing game--Ms. Batte took pictures of all of our smiles and cropped away everything but the mouth and teeth, then we had to guess which smile belonged to each of our classmates.  It was a great week!