Pre-K · Teeth basics
Meet Your Teeth
Say hello to your teeth! Little learners find their teeth in the mirror, count with help, and discover the jobs teeth do — chewing, talking, and smiling.
What you'll learn
- Students will point to their teeth and name one job teeth do — chewing, talking, or smiling.
- Students will look in a mirror and count teeth with a grown-up's help.
- Students will repeat that even little baby teeth are important and need care.
Smile big! Do you see them? Those little white helpers are your teeth — and today you get to meet them.
Hello, teeth!
Look in a mirror and say hello. Your teeth are busy helpers:
- They chew. Chomp, chomp! Teeth mash your food into tiny bites.
- They talk. Say “ta-ta-ta” — feel your tongue tap your teeth? Teeth help your words come out clear.
- They smile. Your smile says hello before you even talk!
Count with a grown-up
Little kids grow 20 baby teeth — ten up top, ten down below. That’s a lot of helpers! Ask a grown-up to help you count some in the mirror. Some may still be on their way — teeth show up little by little as you grow.
Baby teeth are small, but they are a big deal. They even save seats for the grown-up teeth that come when you’re bigger. So we take good care of every single one.
Say it with me: “Hello, teeth! I’ll take care of you!” Now try the little quiz below with your grown-up or teacher.
Print & go
Printables for this lesson
The educator plan includes objectives, standards, the step-by-step lesson, and a paper pre/post knowledge check with answer key. The family sheet is bilingual — English and Español on one page.
Standards alignment
Sources
Every health claim in this lesson comes from a primary source and is clinically reviewed before publication.
- Source: ADA MouthHealthy — Baby Teethaccessed 2026-07-28
- Source: ADA MouthHealthy — Eruption Chartsaccessed 2026-07-28
- Source: AAP HealthyChildren.org — Good Oral Health Starts Earlyaccessed 2026-07-28
Licensed CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 — free for schools and families to use, share, and adapt with credit (non-commercial, share-alike).
Healthy Smiles. Brighter Futures. · atomicsmile.org/learn
Meet Your Teeth — Educator Lesson Plan
Learning objectives
- Students will point to their teeth and name one job teeth do — chewing, talking, or smiling.
- Students will look in a mirror and count teeth with a grown-up's help.
- Students will repeat that even little baby teeth are important and need care.
Standards alignment (NHES)
- NHES 1.2.1 — Identify that healthy behaviors impact personal health. (Standard 1, Pre-K–Grade 2, NHES 2nd ed., 2007)
- NHES 7.2.1 — Demonstrate healthy practices and behaviors to maintain or improve personal health. (Standard 7, Pre-K–Grade 2, NHES 2nd ed., 2007)
Materials
- A hand mirror for each child or pair (unbreakable if possible)
- A big smile picture or simple tooth chart to point at
- Printed pre/post knowledge checks from this packet (one per child, read aloud, used twice)
Procedure
- Pre-check (3 min): read each question aloud and let children point or answer together. Collect the sheets to compare after.
- Warm-up (2 min): everybody show your biggest smile! What do you see in a friend's smile? Teeth!
- Mirror time (4 min): with mirrors, children look at their own teeth. Help them count a few — kids grow 20 baby teeth in all.
- Tooth jobs (3 min): act them out together — chomp like you're eating an apple (chewing), say "ta-ta-ta" and feel your tongue tap your teeth (talking), give a giant grin (smiling).
- Wrap-up (1 min): teeth are little helpers — and helpers get taken care of! Tonight, teeth get brushed.
- Post-check (2 min): read the same questions aloud again and celebrate how much everyone knows now.
Knowledge check — photocopy this page
Give the same check before and after the lesson; class totals before vs. after give you a measurable outcome for reports and grants.
Name: ____________________________ Date: ______________ ☐ Before the lesson ☐ After the lesson
- What do your teeth help you do?
- Chew, talk, and smile
- Fly
- Nothing
- How many baby teeth do little kids grow?
- Two
- Twenty
- A million
- Do baby teeth matter?
- No, they fall out anyway
- Only the front ones
- Yes! Every single one
- Who helps you count your teeth in the mirror?
- A grown-up
- A goldfish
- Nobody is allowed to help
- What do we tell our teeth?
- Go away!
- I'll take care of you!
- Nothing — teeth are boring
Answer key — teacher page
1. a · 2. b · 3. c · 4. a · 5. b
Sources
- ADA MouthHealthy — Baby Teeth — https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/baby-teeth (accessed 2026-07-28)
- ADA MouthHealthy — Eruption Charts — https://www.mouthhealthy.org/all-topics-a-z/eruption-charts (accessed 2026-07-28)
- AAP HealthyChildren.org — Good Oral Health Starts Early — https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/oral-health/Pages/Brushing-Up-on-Oral-Health-Never-Too-Early-to-Start.aspx (accessed 2026-07-28)
Healthy Smiles. Brighter Futures. · atomicsmile.org/learn
Meet Your Teeth
Tonight's healthy habit
Little kids grow 20 baby teeth, and each one matters — baby teeth help your child chew, talk clearly, and smile, and they save space for the grown-up teeth coming later. Caring for them starts now, even though they fall out one day.
Try it tonight
Play "smile mirror" tonight: sit together with a mirror, make silly grins, and count a few teeth out loud — then say goodnight to them with a good brushing.
El hábito saludable de hoy
Los niños pequeños tienen 20 dientes de leche, y cada uno importa — los dientes de leche ayudan a su hijo o hija a masticar, hablar claro y sonreír, y guardan el lugar para los dientes de adulto que vienen después. Hay que cuidarlos desde ahora, aunque un día se caigan.
Pruébalo esta noche
Jueguen al "espejo de sonrisas" esta noche: siéntense juntos con un espejo, hagan sonrisas chistosas y cuenten unos dientes en voz alta — después despídanse de ellos con una buena cepillada.
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