10 things about your toothbrush

1o THINGS YOU DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOUR TOOTHBRUSH

It’s Dental Health Week (August 3-9) and this year the Australian Dental Association (ADA) is shining the spotlight on the harm sugar and poor oral health habits do to your teeth.

With around 48% of Australian adults* consuming too much sugar according to the ADA Oral Health Tracker ** statistics, your toothbrush (along with your diet) is possibly your most important weapon in the fight against tooth decay.

Here are ten little-known toothbrush facts to ponder on as you stand at the bathroom sink giving your pearly whites a good clean.

1. The humble toothbrush is 5,000 years old.

In various forms, that is. Ancient civilizations used a chew stick - a thin twig with a frayed end, to remove food from their teeth. Over time, toothbrushes evolved and were made from bone, wood or ivory handles and stiff bristles from hogs, boars or other animals. Today’s nylon-bristled toothbrush was invented in 1938.

2. The first mass-produced toothbrush was invented in prison.

In 1770, an Englishman named William Addis was jailed for inciting a riot. He saw fellow prisoners using a rag covered in soot or salt to clean their teeth. Addis saved an animal bone from dinner and received bristles from a guard. Accounts state he bored tiny holes into the bone, inserted the bristles and sealed them with glue. After his release, he modified his prototype, started a company and manufactured his toothbrush. That company, Wisdom Toothbrushes, still exists in the UK today.

3. Manual or powered? Your teeth don’t care.

In the manual and powered toothbrush debate, it’s a wash; just be sure to brush your teeth for two minutes twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste. (If your toothpaste has the ADA Seal, you’ll know it has fluoride.) Both types of toothbrush can effectively and thoroughly clean your teeth. People who find it difficult to use a manual toothbrush may find a powered one more comfortable. Talk to your dentist about which is best for you.

4. There’s no “correct” order for brushing and flossing.

Brushing before flossing, flossing before brushing—it doesn’t matter to your teeth. As long as you do both, your teeth will thank you.

5. Toothbrushes like to be left out in the open.

Cleaning your toothbrush is easy: rinse it with tap water to remove any remaining toothpaste and debris. Store it upright and allow it to air dry. If you store your toothbrush with other toothbrushes, make sure they’re separated to prevent cross contamination. And don’t cover toothbrushes or store them in closed containers. A moist environment such as a closed container is more conducive to the growth of unwanted bacteria than the open air.

6. They have a 3 month lifespan

Make sure you replace your toothbrush around every three months, or sooner if the bristles are splayed. A worn toothbrush won’t do a good job of cleaning your teeth. If you replace your brush before the three-month mark, it could indicate you’re applying too much pressure

when brushing. Studies show a new toothbrush is 95% more effective in removing culprit plaque than a 3-month-old one.

7. When it comes to choosing a brush, go soft.

No matter the type of brush you choose, choose a soft-bristled brush. Firm or even medium-strength bristles may cause damage to your gums and enamel. When brushing your teeth, don’t scrub vigorously—it’s not about how hard you brush, it is all in the technique. Your fluoride toothpaste will do the rest of the work and only ever used a pea-sized amount as the rest is a waste.

8. It only takes 2 minutes, twice a day.

Four minutes a day goes a long way to maintaining optimum oral health. Put the time in each day to keep your smile healthy and keep up this twice-a-day habit. Sharing a toothbrush can mean you’re also sharing germs and bacteria, not a good idea when there are over 800 kinds of bacteria in your mouth. This could be a particular concern if you have a cold or flu to spread, or you have a condition that leaves your immune system compromised.

10. Becoming sustainable is easy.

Worldwide we throw away around five billion toothbrushes a year – now some toothbrush manufacturers are producing ones made of sustainable materials including biodegradable bamboo handles. Meanwhile recycling company TerraCycle has partnered with Colgate to recycle toothbrushes, toothpaste tubes and caps, floss containers and their packaging. Go to www.terracycle.com to find out more.

For more info on Dental Health Week visit www.ada.org.au/Dental-Health-Week-2020/Home

LITERACY IN KINDer

Literacy is a vital part of every child’s development. It provides the foundations for doing well at school, socialising with others and developing independence. However, before children learn to read and write, they need to develop the building blocks for literacy – the ability to speak, listen, understand, watch and make observations.

To develop these life skills, children should be immersed in a rich literacy environment, one in which they are surrounded by talking, singing and reading. Play-based learning is crucial to this environment.

Research shows that another key ingredient is early childhood educators. Children have a natural instinct to be curious and investigate their environments; a strong Kindergarten program will encourage these life skills, as well as a love of learning. Kindergarten educators build relationships with children where respectful and effective communication is valued. We plan activities that capture children’s interests and keep them eager to learn.

Children love the opportunity to be engaged in conversation or dialogue. As such, we will ask them about something that happened at home, or ask them to describe what they have learned from an activity. We encourage them to question and show curiosity. Most importantly, we ask them to practise listening to each other and develop the skills of patience and respect. Self-confidence is promoted when children share their spoken stories with the group.

Books are a passport into magic worlds and children love to listen to stories. They will often role-play reading and imitate what the adult does when reading. This is an important part of development and shows that they are realising that the words on the page have meaning. Vocabulary is growing on a daily basis, motor skills are becoming more refined, and with this comes independence and self-esteem.

Project work is a great way to embed literacy skills. When children are given many opportunities to draw and paint and create, they learn the connection between spoken and written language. It is exciting to watch children decide what interests them, such as building a cubby house, and then visually represent it, research and discuss, collaborate and problem-solve.

At Kindergarten, literacy is all around. It is intrinsically linked to everything that the child engages with. Developing a solid foundation of pre-literacy skills gives children entering school an advantage they carry with them for life.

How can you help?

Parents and families play a significant role in the development of pre-literacy skills. These are just a few strategies you can try with your child at home:

Ask questions related to what your child is interested in or may have engaged in at

Kindergarten.

Model new language and ask questions related to what the child has told you.

Give children time to respond, and encourage back and forth dialogue.

Get children to predict. For example: ‘What are you working on today? What are you planning to do with those materials?’ When reading a story, you may like to ask your child to predict the ending, or make up a different ending.

Tell stories rather than only reading them; encourage your child to make up stories.

Ask children to provide explanations: ‘What do you think happened? How could we help solve this problem?’

Ask children to connect learning to their own lives: ‘What does this remind you of? Have you seen something like this before?’

When reading stories, encourage your child to ask thinking questions and make connections between their life and the story.

Use recall questions, open-ended questions, and who, what, when, where, how and why questions. By Fiona Ireland, Director of Kindergarten, Lauriston Girls’ School