48 Where There Is No Dentist 2012
ACTIVITIES:
1. Have each student look inside a partner’s mouth. Look for black
spots that may be cavities, for dark teeth that are dead, and for sores
on the gums, especially near a bad tooth.
2. Discover how sweet food sticks to teeth.
• Cut several different kinds of food with a knife.
• Vegetables and meat do not stick to
the knife.
• Sweet foods, like chocolate and
jam buns, do stick to the knife.
They stick to your teeth the
same way.
Pour some cola or juice in a dish, and leave it outside overnight.
As water is lost, the juice left in the dish
becomes sticky. It attracts flies.
The air you breathe dries the cola and
causes a sticky, very sweet coating to
form on your teeth. It attracts germs.
Try to find some old teeth. Ask the
students to keep their own baby teeth
when they fall out. (Note: in some
countries this is not acceptable.) Your
dental worker can save you some
teeth that were taken out at the clinic.
Scrape the outer cover of the root with a knife. Feel how hard and
smooth it is.
Then find out what happens
when the students leave a tooth
in cola, milk, or plain water.
After 3 days scrape each tooth
again with a knife. Students will
discover that sweet cola drinks
make teeth softer and darker
in color.