We all know the importance of oral hygiene, and that having a clean mouth by brushing our teeth twice a day, we can stay away from most of the germs and bad bacteria which otherwise can result in various tooth–related ailments, such as early tooth decay, cavities, tarter, etc.

Today’s craft activity is a perfect way to remind young kids about the importance of oral hygiene with a wonderful DIY from empty plastic bottles’ bottoms and turning them into teeth.

Things you need

1. Small empty water or soft drink bottles (8 to 12)

2. Scissors

3. Pink chart paper

4. White paint (preferably acrylic)

5. Play dough (green, orange and yellow)

6. Used or useless toothbrush

Directions

1. Mark the bottom of the bottles (two inches up from the bottom) and cut them carefully (these are the teeth). It is better to get an elder’s assistance in cutting, see picture 2 and 3.

2. Paint all the teeth (bottoms of the bottles) white from the outside only, picture 4.

3. Arrange half of these ‘teeth’ in ‘U’ shape, and half in its opposite side on pink chart paper as shown in picture 5.

Note: These are supposedly the jaws, upper and the lower, leave two to three inches between both jaws as they determine the size of the mouth.

1. Cut the pink chart paper vertically then cut the corners in circular shape, picture 6.

2. It’s time to paste the teeth in ‘U’ shape; first, the lower jaw, then cut a piece of dark pink-coloured paper, to be pasted as the tongue. If you don’t have a darker shade of pink, use the same pink chart paper, picture 8.

3. Paste the teeth on the upper side, leaving a three-inches gap between both the jaws, picture 9.

4. The mouth is almost ready, just check the upper jaw if it sits perfectly on the lower one, picture 10.

5. Take little bits of play dough and put them on the teeth, picture 11.

6. The idea is to use the toothbrush for cleaning off the germs and leftover food from the teeth i.e., the play dough!

Enjoy brushing the teeth!

Published in Dawn, Young World, January 9th, 2021