56 Where There Is No Dentist 2012
Cleaning your teeth carefully every day is another important way to take care
of both teeth and gums. However, cleaning teeth is like building a house.
To do a good job, you need to work slowly and carefully. Once a day is
enough, if you clean your teeth well every day.
Buy a brush from the store, or make one yourself (see p. 4). But be sure the
cleaning end of the brush is soft so that it won’t hurt the gums.
Use your brush to clean all the teeth, especially the back ones with the
grooves. Back teeth are harder to reach and so it is easy not to clean them
well enough. Cavities start from sweet food and germs left together inside
the grooves.
1. Scrub the inside,
outside, and top of
each tooth.
2. Push the hairs of
your brush between
two teeth. Sweep
the food away.
3. Wash your mouth
with water, to
remove any loose
bits of food.
Small children are not able to clean their teeth carefully enough by
themselves. They need help. Look at the pictures on the cover and p.18 to
see how you can do this. Older children can care for younger brothers
and sisters at home.