Why we brush our teeth

What if tiny bugs had a party in your mouth?

After you eat, tiny bits of food stay on your teeth, like crumbs on a plate after lunch.

Your mouth is warm and wet. Tiny living things, called germs, love it there.

Germs are so small you cannot see them. Here is a picture of your tooth with its hard shiny coat.

That hard shiny coat is called enamel. It is like the shell of an egg, keeping the tooth safe.

• Enamel = tooth's hard coat

The germs eat your leftover sugary food. Then they make a sour juice that is bad for your shell.

The sour juice slowly makes tiny holes in the tooth. Those holes are called cavities, and they can really hurt.

• Cavity = a hole in a tooth

So how do we stop the party? We brush! The toothbrush sweeps the crumbs and germs away.

Think of washing a muddy toy. Water and a scrub make it shiny again. Brushing does that for teeth.

Brush two times a day, in the morning and before bed. Brush slowly for about two minutes.

Why before bed? At night you do not eat, so germs have a long quiet time to work on teeth.

Use only a tiny dab of toothpaste, and spit it out. Do not swallow it, because that is not good for tummies.

Let us remember the helpers: soft brush, tiny toothpaste, two minutes, two times a day. Quick question for you! We brush our teeth to wash away crumbs and germs, so our teeth stay strong, shiny and pain free.