Smile
Good oral health matters because it supports lifelong physical, social, and emotional wellbeing. Healthy baby teeth help children eat, speak, and develop confidence, and they guide adult teeth into the right positions. When decay develops early, it can spread to permanent teeth, cause pain and infection, and contribute to wider health problems.
Te Whāriki
Holistic Development – Kotahitanga: Holistic learning can be encouraged through recognising how oral health affects our wider wellbeing and others around us, exploring science concepts and establishing routines around brushing teeth and eating healthy food and drinks.
Relationships – Ngā Hononga: Learning about oral health through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places, and things in the early learning service through routines, activities and discussions.
Handy Actions are ideas, activities and initiatives that your Early Learning Service could implement relating to the topic of Smile. You could use the list as inspiration or as a checklist to assess what your ELS is currently doing towards 'Smile' and decide what other ideas could be implemented. Choose actions that suit your service, your community, and where you are at. You don’t need to do everything; these are ideas.
He Pou Oranga Tangata Whenua
Here are some examples of how the pathways of wellbeing can be interwoven into this Block:
Encouraging self-help skills and taking ownership of their wellbeing enhances the mana and self-determination (rangatiratanga) of tamariki as well as developing and growing their skills, knowledge and attitudes (pūkengatanga).
Practicing oral health and supporting others to care for themselves is also a way to show respect and kindness to others (manaakitanga) and demonstrate a unity and solidarity (kotahitanga) to how oral health affects our overall wellbeing.
Supporting information and evidence
Tooth decay happens when bacterial plaque turns sugars into acids that damage the enamel. Frequent sugar exposure and acidic drinks increase this risk. Untreated decay can lead to serious infections, poor nutrition, sleep issues, and long‑term dental problems.
Strong habits—brushing with fluoride toothpaste, healthy eating, and regular dental checkups—protect teeth, prevent cavities, and support overall health.
Key Messages
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Baby teeth matter
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Brush teeth twice a day with fluoride toothpaste
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Spit, don’t rinse after brushing (a small amount of fluoride toothpaste left around the teeth will help protect them)
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Have regular dental check-ups (it’s free until they are 18, with the first visit usually when a child is one)
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‘Lift the lip’ every month to check teeth and gums
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Choose healthy snacks and drink water or plain milk
Facts
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A 2022 Aotearoa New Zealand study of 33,202 five‑year‑olds found that 56% had no history of caries. Caries‑free rates were much lower for tamariki Māori (39%) and Pacific children (33.5%).
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High sugar intake is a major contributor to decay. New Zealanders consume around 37 teaspoons of sugar daily, far above the WHO guideline of 12 teaspoons.
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Foods and drinks high in sugar or that stick to teeth—like dried fruit, jellybeans, jubes, and lollipops—are particularly harmful. A 350ml fruit juice can contain 10 teaspoons of sugar.
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Babies produce less saliva during sleep, so bottles in bed and sweetened dummies increase decay risk. It is not recommended to give a baby a bottle to fall asleep as they produce less saliva during sleep.
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Leaving two hours between feeds helps saliva clear sugars and protect teeth.
