Monday, April 14, 2008

What's Inside a Tooth?

Well if you asked my four year old before today he would have said "sugar bugs". That's what the Dentist tells the kids. There are sugar bugs inside your mouth and you need to brush your teeth to get them out.

Today we learned that your mouth is full of bacteria. When the bacteria sticks to your teeth it forms a film called plaque - usually near the gum line or between the teeth. The bacteria feeds off the sugar in your mouth and multiplies. As bacteria multiplies it gives off acids that eat the enamel and forms holes called cavities.

We made mini layer diagrams (boy do I love these!) and a tooth movie..... the boys also colored a mini maze identifying the different types of teeth.

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all three boys' layer diagrams of a tooth

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some close-ups of the layer diagram..... layer 1. enamel, layer 2. pulp, layer 3. dentin, layer 4. gum and bone

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Tooth maze and a close-up. Each boy did one of their own. Located the molars, premolars, canine and incisers.

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This is how we put them in the binder.... a little bit of double sided tape, some card stock (I got 1,000 sheets of this hidious lime green card stock at an auction for $1 so you'll see a lot of it!)

We will be doing some more work on teeth tomorrow and possbily the next day too lol! I always plan a whole bunch of things to cram into our time and well, not all of it seems to get done in between water breaks, then the inevitibile washroom break, then of course they need to pet the kitty on the way by and oh wait she needs a treat...... and so our day goes.

Off to brush my teeth!

9 comments:

Happy Elf Mom (Christine) said...

Kewl! We just lost a tooth at our house.

Renae said...

My little Sunshine would love this project. She is fascinated by the body. She talks about her blood pumping all the time.

Thanks for sharing!

Renae said...

Whoops. My blog is Life Nurturing Education

Peace to you,
Renae

Anonymous said...

Cool! Maybe this will get my 8yo to brush!

Anonymous said...

Those are great!

Shannon said...

These are terrific! Where did you get the tooth layer diagrams? We're doing a mini-unit on teeth soon, and these would be great additions to their notebooks.
Blessings,
Shannon

Have Fun - Live Life said...

where did you find the layered pictures? They are really great!

The Giggles Family said...

The layered diagrams are from a Scholastic Book ...... Easy To Make & Learn Human Body. There is also another Scholastic Book called The Body Book.... I am addicted to the layer diagrams and cannot wait to use more! My kids adore them and learn so much while they are making them... review is also great!

April said...

Love these diagrams! I will have to get these books for my kids!
Thanks for sharing this