Sharing Dental Care In Vilonia and Mayflower Schools

I was so thrilled to continue sharing my platform during the week of February 10-14.

On February 10th, I visited Mrs. Mitchell and Mrs. Moore's class at Vilonia Elementary. I was so happy to see my sweet dance student, Carly. She was such a great helper in my first experiment.

With the third grade classes I began by asking them a few questions about how they take care of their teeth. I then read them a story about going to the dentist. After our story we began our two experiments.

In the first experiment, I placed a rubber glove on my hand and we pretended like my fingers were teeth. Carly then spread peanut butter on and between my "teeth." Another student then began to brush my teeth. While the toothbrush did remove a lot of the peanut butter, there was still some between my teeth. Another student flossed between my "teeth" and we observed how important it is to floss everyday and make sure all of the food is out from between our teeth.

In the second activity we observed how much sugar is in a soda, energy drink, and apple juice. I let the students take turns scooping out how much they thought was in each. We then compared the actual amounts and discussed the effect sugar has on our teeth. The students then told me alternatives that would be better for our dental health than the three drinks in the activity.

I took questions and told the students the proper way to brush and floss. Every student promised they would use their dental kit every day that they were then given.

On the 12th, I returned to Vilonia Elementary to visit Mrs. Varner and Mrs. Carpenter's classes. These students were very intrigued by my presentation and had so many questions.

My favorite part of the day was when one of the students informed me he loved to dance also and then continued to show me his dance moves. It was great! I told all of young girls he would be who they needed to attend dances with in the future.

The next day I visited Mayflower Elementary and was so excited to see one of my dance students, Savannah. I was able to speak to the entire first grade. The students piled into the cafeteria eager to hear about dental care. I even had one student ask if I was the tooth fairy. I do think she was disappointed to find out that I was not.

On Valentines Day, I returned to Vilonia once again to speak to more third graders. This school was so welcoming all week and I really enjoyed being there.

In my first week of appearances I was able to share my platform with more than 300 students and give each one a dental kit.

Thank you to all of the instructors at Vilonia Elementary and Mayflower Elementary for making this possible. I appreciate the time with the students and look forward to more opportunities like these.