School Calendar

On Friday, September 02, 2016, the Grade 4 classes have invited a resource speaker to talk about how to keep our teeth clean. This is aligned with our third line of inquiry on taking responsibility of taking care of our body. We have invited Ms. Ruth Evans to talk about how she keeps her teeth clean; the tools she needs to clean her teeth and also how people in Australia take care of their teeth.

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Ms. Ruth Evans has written some vocabularies on the board relating to our teeth namely: decay, plaque, tartar, enamel, cavity and fluoride.

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She has started by saying, “When we were kids, we have 20 milky teeth and as we grow, the milky teeth will fall and will be replaced by permanent teeth”.

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She has strongly discussed the need to brush our teeth two times every day. If we don’t brush our teeth regularly, plaque (bacteria or germ) will be formed in our teeth.  If we don’t clean our teeth, it will become worse as tartar (stronger form of plaque). Tartar itself is the second phase and tartar eventually will break the teeth by creating holes in the teeth called cavity. The cavity worsens and your teeth will decay due to the the bacteria or germ that have attacked your enamel (thin film covering your teeth).  In effect, we are recommended to visit the dentist at last once a year.

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Ms. Ruth Evans also brought some tools that she uses to clean her teeth such as tooth brush, tooth paste, dental floss, and tooth pick. She has explained that sometimes it is difficult to clean the area between the teeth with tooth brush and that is why she uses dental floss.

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Your gums will bleed sometimes when you use dental floss but it is only at the beginning.  After you use the dental floss frequently, your gum will get used to it. Brushing the teeth becomes a habit not only in Australia but also in other countries.  We have to make it a habit to brush our teeth two times a day so as to clean and make our teeth healthy.

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She also said that in Australia and some European countries, the water from water tap has been added with fluoride (substance that helps to strengthen the teeth).  That is why people in Australia drink a lot of water from the tap because it also can help strengthen their teeth. It is also very common in Australia to change their tooth brush every three months and see the dentist at least once a year.

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At the end of her presentation, some students asked questions about tooth shape, what is tartar, what is the function of enamel, the importance of brushing your teeth, preventing smelly saliva, second teeth and baby teeth.

Ms. Ruth answered all the questions from the students with ease and charm.   We are very happy with the presentation because it has enlightened all of us in cleaning and taking care of our teeth. There will be no reason for us to lose our permanent teeth because we know how to take care of teeth.

 

By Mr. Juandri, Ms. Nurcahaya and Ms. Lina (Grade 4 Homeroom Teachers)