Attack Plaque

Does anyone ever really remember their Dental Hygienist coming to their classroom to talk about teeth and good oral hygiene? The kids won't remember my name. They'll remember me as the lady that carries around a big toothbrush. Seriously! I have to show them how to brush with my big teeth and big toothbrush.


This morning I taught a couple classes at WSR School. They said, "gooooood moooooooorning Miss Beeeeeeev!" I tell them a silly story about the Three Friends teeth and quiz them afterwards. If they get a question right I reward them with stickers. The kids go CRAZY over Sponge Bob stickers! Geez. I had to calm them down a couple of times.








Then I ask for 4 brave volunteers and have them chew on pink tablets to disclose their plaque in their mouth. They are so cute!








They always get a kick out of that! Hey don't laugh! If I gave you a pink disclosing tablet your teeth might look like that too!

February is National Children's Dental Health Month

Me: Open your mouth really WIDE like a shark!!
Kid Patient: *opens REALLY wide*
Me: Good job!
Me: Now, let’s count your teeth! How many teeth do you think you have?!
Kid Patient: Yells ten! *giggles*
Me: 1,2,3 . . 11,12. . . 20! Yikes! You have 20 teeth!
Kid Patient: *cheers*

She is my most favorite patient ever! She opens her mouth really wide, sits still, doesn’t cry, doesn’t bite my fingers, and is a good brusher! Most of all she is always happy to see me! Okay, maybe she’s only happy to see me because after her cleanings I give her stickers and a pink toothbrush=)

Each February, the American Dental Association sponsors National Children’s Dental Health Month to focus on providing oral health education to all children despite their economic status. The best part about my job is going out to the public and private schools in Saipan to teach the kids about good oral hygiene and how to brush their teeth. Lori and I tell them a story about teeth, ask them questions, and give them stickers. You hope that they remember the importance of brushing. But good oral hygiene starts at home with the parents. Help your kids avoid unnecessary tooth pain by taking them to their dentist every six months. You can use these tools to help encourage your kids to brush here .

Science Never Sucks!

I taught good oral hygiene, tobacco and betal nut cessation in Bree's science class this morning. I was a little hesitant about teaching middle schoolers because the other hygienist didn't have such a good experience with them before. I was just hoping I wouldn't get any attitude or wise cracks. I think for the most part it went really well. Bree's class was very smart and attentive.
I thought it would be fun to disclose the plaque in their mouth with the red tablets and to also have them look at bacteria from their mouth using the microscopes. The kids had fun laughing at each other and their pink teeth as well as looking at slides of bacteria from their mouths. Did you know that you have over 300 strains of bacteria in your mouth? Gross, i know.
Another important topic I wanted to talk about was tobacco and betal nut cessation. I asked the class how many of them chew and I'd say that about half of them raised their hands. So slowly I listed all the reasons why betal nut and tobacco chewing was bad for them. I'm hoping that I got through to them. Its just hard to see them start a nasty habit like chewing at such a young age. Anyways, Thanks Bree for letting me come teach your class!

At It Again.

I taught two fifth grade classes at San Vicente Elementary School. My favorite thing: hearing the kids laugh at my silly story about the importance of their teeth. Classroom management can be tough especially if the kids are hyper. I have a new found respect for teachers and what they put up with. Patience is really key. Some cute questions they asked me: what do you do if your girl friend doesn’t brush her teeth and are you single? Twas a great day.



Btw, still uploading pics from my Palau diving trip. I'm working on a slide show. Stay tuned!=)

I miss Palau already! Kayaking around the Rock Islands.

Bunny Ears

Happy Happy. The kids have been fantastic these last few days. I taught two classes at the Saipan Community School. The first class was the 7th and 8th graders. I noticed how very attentive they were especially when they knew I would quiz them at the end and hand out prizes for correct answers. The sixth graders were hilarious! The class was divided. The boys on one side and girls on the other. It took me awhile to get them to sit together. My presentation overall went okay. I kept messing up the story. I'm a bad story teller! I kill stories and jokes=(

It’s Gross, Neh!

Take the floss challenge. Floss between your teeth and then smell it! Yes you heard me, smell it! If it smells than you are definitely not doing a good job at cleaning your teeth. If I were to scrape some plaque (bacteria) off your teeth with my instrument and put it on a cracker . . . would you eat it?? Of course not! Its gross! So why would you want to suck on plaque that sits on your teeth all day?

The other dental hygienist, Lori, and I were discussing this issue this morning. We agree that not flossing is the same thing as not wiping your butt when you go to the bathroom. Seriously! We think more people take more care of their behinds than their teeth! It doesn’t make sense. Nobody really sees your behind. Instead everyone sees your teeth because you have to talk, smile, laugh, kiss, and eat with them. So why not take more care of them? It only takes a couple of minutes a day. Remember you only have to floss the teeth you want to keep=)