Year 4: Private: Healthy Teeth

The Science Bit

Brushing your teeth twice a day with toothpaste helps to remove bits of food and prevents the build up of plaque. Plaque is a sticky, slimy substance that produces acids after you eat or drink sugary and starchy foods. These acids can destroy tooth enamel, causing tooth decay and unhealthy gums.

It is thought that the Egyptians first started using a type of toothpaste 7,000 years ago. It was more of a powder than a paste and contained a mixture of ingredients that included burnt eggshells, ox’s hooves and ash! In the film clip, we are transported back in time around 500 years, where we learn that wealthy Tudors were brushing their teeth with their own special toothpaste recipe.

Discuss the meaning of each word highlighted in bold.

Prediction

Before you watch the clip, can you make a prediction about which ingredients you think were used by the Tudors to make their toothpaste?

Observation

Pause the clip at 00:30 seconds. Look at the tooth identification chart below: Which two types of teeth are on the silver tray? What do you notice about their shape? Why do you think this is?

Enquiring Mind Questions

1) Did dentists exist in the Tudor times?

2) Did the Tudors use toothbrushes?

Do you have your own enquiring mind questions that relate to the clip?