Teeth and Healthy Eating

Your amazing teeth

Open your mouth and look in a mirror. Those white, shiny teeth do a very important job: they are the first step in eating your food! Before you can swallow, your teeth bite and chew your food into small, soft pieces. This is the very start of digestion, the way your body turns food into the fuel that keeps you running and playing.

Teeth are the hardest part of your whole body — even harder than bone. The shiny outside layer is called enamel, and it protects your teeth like a suit of armour.

Different teeth for different jobs

Not all your teeth are the same shape. That is because each kind has its own job:

• Incisors 🦷 — the flat, wide teeth at the front. They are like little scissors that bite and cut food, such as taking a bite of an apple.
• Canines — the pointy teeth next to the incisors. They are sharp for tearing tougher foods.
• Molars — the big, bumpy teeth at the back. They are flat and strong for grinding and chewing food into mush.

Run your tongue along your teeth and feel the difference between the sharp front ones and the bumpy back ones!

You also have two sets of teeth in your life. Your first set is called milk teeth or baby teeth. Around the age of six, they begin to fall out one by one, and bigger, stronger adult teeth grow in their place. Your adult teeth need to last your whole life, so it is very important to look after them.

Why sugar is a problem

Inside your mouth live tiny germs called bacteria that are far too small to see. These germs love sugar. Every time you eat sweets, biscuits, cake or sugary drinks, the germs have a feast.

Here is the tricky part: when the germs eat sugar, they make a kind of acid. That acid slowly attacks the hard enamel on your teeth and can make tiny holes. These holes are called tooth decay or cavities, and they can really hurt. The more often you eat sugary things, the more the germs are fed.

This does not mean you can never have a treat. It means treats should be only sometimes, not all day long — and it is best to brush your teeth afterwards to wash the germs and sugar away.

Looking after your teeth

Keeping your teeth healthy is easy if you do these things:

1. Brush twice a day — once in the morning and once before bed. Use a pea-sized blob of fluoride toothpaste. Fluoride is a special ingredient that helps make enamel strong.
2. Brush for two minutes — long enough to clean every tooth, front, back and on top. Try singing a short song while you brush!
3. Drink water, especially instead of fizzy or sugary drinks. Water rinses your mouth and has no sugar.
4. Visit the dentist regularly so they can check your teeth and spot any tiny problems early.

Healthy eating for a healthy body

Your teeth help you eat, but eating the right foods keeps your whole body strong. A healthy meal has a good mix of food groups on the plate:

• Fruit and vegetables 🍎🥕 — eat lots of these every day. They are full of vitamins and fibre that keep you healthy and help your body work properly. Aim for five different ones a day.
• Energy foods 🍞 — bread, rice, pasta and potatoes give you the energy to run, jump and think.
• Body-building foods 🥚 — eggs, beans, fish and meat help you grow and build strong muscles.
• Dairy foods 🧀 — milk, cheese and yoghurt have calcium, which builds strong bones and strong teeth.
• Treats 🍫 — sweets and cakes are fine once in a while, but not every day.

Eating well does not just help your teeth — it gives you energy and helps every part of you grow. Strong bones and strong teeth go together, and you can learn more about your bones in The Human Skeleton.

Try it yourself: the apple smile test

Here is a fun way to see your teeth at work and find the hidden bits to brush.

1. Eat a small piece of bread or a cracker, but do not brush yet.
2. Look in a mirror and smile widely. Can you see little bits of food stuck between or behind your teeth? Those are the spots germs love!
3. Now brush your teeth properly for two minutes, reaching the front, back and tops.
4. Smile in the mirror again. The food bits should be gone.

Why this works: food gets stuck in places you cannot always feel. Brushing carefully removes the food and the germs, so they have nothing to feed on. Try counting how many different types of teeth you brushed — incisors, canines and molars all need cleaning!

Which healthy food is your favourite? Try drawing a healthy plate with foods from every group.