Our group members consists of Kam Chuan Eng, Jeevanantham Sundra, Khoo Zuen Thong, Lai Min Shin, Lai Pei Shan, Law Chwan Horng, Lin Cze-Yin and Lie Yoon Zhen.
Due to time constraints, we approached the teachers at both kindergartens to ask if it was okay to join the two kindergartens together. Each kindergarten had about fifteen students and so conducting the oral health education activities for thirty kindergarten children would be a bearable task.
The first visit was held on the 11th of October 2009. We were to conduct oral health education activities such as diet education lessons, toothbrushing drills, story telling, quizzes and more.
Prior to the visits, group 5.3 have been spending many evenings together finishing up some materials that will be used during the oral health education visit.
The activities held on the first visit were:
Oral Health Education Talk by Lin Cze-Yin
Magic Show by Lie Yoon Zhen
Colouring Contest by Law Chwan Horng
Diet Education Talk and Food Game by Khoo Zuen Thong
Toothbrushing Drill by Lai Min Shin.
The remaining group members would continue with further activities in the next visit.
Before 9am on the first oral health education visit day, a few of us went to Tabika Kemas Taman Bedong Jaya to transport the fifteen children over to Tabika Kemas Taman Permai where we conducted the oral health education activities.
The children were encouraged to bring their colour pencils along as we would be having a colouring contest for them on that day.
When all the children arrived at Tabika Kemas Taman Permai, Dr. Niekla who was Group 5.3's supervisor briefed us on the day's agenda.
Lin Cze-Yin went first and conducted her oral hygiene education talk. The children were extremely attentive and well behave as she told them about the benefits of having teeth, the functions of their teeth and mouth and what they should do to keep their teeth healthy and strong.
Cze-Yin made a very interactive presentation and the children were clearly captivated.
The children were not shy as well when she asked them simple oral hygiene questions.
Cze-Yin brought along the typodont model to teach the children about the various type of teeth that they have.
After the oral hygiene education talk, Lie Yoon Zhen played the role of "Pendekar Gigi" (Tooth Warrior) who made an appearance with his brand of magic show.
This is the Pendekar Gigi hard at work, trying to win his way into the hearts of the children. It is not clear how a towel around his head makes him a Tooth Warrior.
The children were entertained nonetheless.
Next up was Law Chwan Horng's turn to have his colouring contest session. He drew a picture of a boy brushing his teeth and asked the children to be creative with their choice of colours as there would be prizes. The reason he chose to draw a boy brushing his teeth was to remind the children about how important it is for us to maintain our oral hygiene on a daily basis.
He coloured one himself to be shown as an example.
The bright young children before they attempted to colour their copies.
For a good half an hour, we allowed the kids to showcase their creativity and also some peace and quiet for the adults to go about preparing for the next round of activities.
We thought it was very nicely coloured but this little boy did not seem to think so. After the kids were done, Chwan Horng collected the colouring sheets and he would announce the winning entry two weeks later.
Before the diet education talk by Khoo Zuen Thong, a cartoon on toothbrushing was shown to the children.
Khoo taught the kids how to differentiate between good food and bad food. It was explained clearly to the children that a good diet is not only beneficial for one's health but for one's oral health as well.
Here he is with an example of what 'bad food' is. All the food items were drawn by Khoo and painted by the help of the group members.
To create a lively atmosphere and also to reinstill the importance of a healthy diet, Khoo had a "Good Food Bad Food" game where the kids divided themselves into two groups of Good Food and Bad Food. We were very proud of the children's progress as they clearly knew which food are beneficial for their oral health and which were hazardous.
We wrapped up the first day visit with a toothbrushing drill which was conducted by Lai Min Shin. According to the guidelines, this would be the first of two toothbrushing drills and the second one would be done on the next visit. By doing so, the children will be able to have a better grasp on the proper toothbrushing techniques.
Here is Cze-Yin tending to the children with a jug of water for them to rinse their mouths.
Group members Chuan Eng, Yoon Zhen and Cze-Yin with the children.
Group members Yoon Zhen and myself, Pei Shan with the children as well.
We used the plaque disclosing tablet to show them where the plaque is and told them to brush those area more as they are not cleaning it well enough.
Min Shin headed the toothbrushing drill and taught the children the correct way to brush their teeth and the importance of toothbrushing.
The children were extremely well behaved and followed Min Shin's instructions.
The children were being very brave as well because one would imagine that the toothpaste might be a little spicy for them as they had it in their mouths for a rather long time.
Some managed to grasp the techniques rather quickly.
Each group member went around assisting and perfecting the children's technique so that they knew exactly what they were doing.
Our visit ended at approximately 11am and a few of the group members fetched the Tabika Kemas Taman Bedong Jaya preschool children back to their kindergarten.
We would like to thank Pn. Saodah, the kindergarten teacher at Tabika Kemas Taman Bedong Jaya, Pn. Suriati, the kindergarten teacher at Tabika Kemas Taman Permai and Dr. Niekla who supported us throughout the day.
There will be more photos and videos in the next blog post on the second oral health education visit.
For now, please enjoy this video of Min Shin giving some oral health education advice to the children and a little snippet of the toothbrushing drill he conducted.
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