Meet your teeth

This lesson prepares students before the Whole Bite Club visit. Students will learn that teeth are living parts of the body that do important jobs, that we grow two sets of teeth in our lifetime, and that different teeth have different shapes and roles — ready to explore further with the Oral Health Home team during the visit.

In this lesson, we will learn about our teeth — their parts, their jobs, and why we need to look after them.

I will know I am successful when I can:

• Name some of the different teeth in my mouth and what they do.
• Explain that we grow two sets of teeth — baby teeth and adult teeth.
• Identify the parts of a tooth.
• Explain why it is important to look after my teeth.

• What do we use our teeth for?
• Why do you think our teeth are important?
• Do you think teeth are living or not living?

• teeth
• tooth
• enamel
• gum
• baby teeth
• adult teeth
• incisor
• canine
• molar
• bite
• chew
• smile
• healthy

• Foundation – Year 2 Supporting Resource Pack
• A mirror per student or per pair (optional)
• Printed mouth or teeth diagram (poster or handout)
• Read-aloud picture book about teeth(opens in a new tab)
• Short video introducing teeth and their jobs(opens in a new tab)

1. The Whole Bite Club Teacher Guide

   Oral Health Home · Held by Oral Health Home; not published online

   The Foundation to Year 2 lessons themselves. Every lesson in this band is transcribed from the guide without paraphrase, so the guide is the source for the plan as well as for what it teaches.

2. Teeth development in children(opens in a new tab)

   Better Health Channel · Opened 5 September 2026

   That children grow two sets of teeth, roughly when each adult tooth arrives, and that baby teeth hold the space the adult teeth need.

Introduction

• Ask the guiding question: What do we use our teeth for? Record student responses.
• Invite students to use a mirror to look at their own teeth. Ask what they notice — different shapes, sizes and positions.

Body

What are teeth for?

• Discuss the different jobs our teeth do: biting, tearing, chewing, and helping us to speak and smile.
• Introduce the main types of teeth using a printed mouth or teeth diagram: incisors (bite), canines (tear), and molars (grind). Have students feel the different shapes with a clean finger or their tongue.

Baby teeth and adult teeth

• Explain that we grow two sets of teeth in our lifetime. Baby teeth come first, and adult teeth grow in to replace them as we get older. Ask who has lost a tooth, and discuss.
• Emphasise that baby teeth are important and still need to be cared for — they help us eat and speak, and hold space for the adult teeth.

Parts of a tooth

• Introduce the parts of a tooth (crown, root, gum) at a simple level.
• Explain that enamel is the hard outer layer that protects the tooth.

Worksheet: My teeth

• Students label the parts of a tooth and/or draw and count their own teeth.

Conclusion

• Look after your smile!
• Review the key messages: teeth do important jobs; we grow two sets of teeth; and we need to look after them every day.
• Ask students to share one thing they already do to look after their teeth.
• Let students know the Oral Health Home team will visit soon for The Whole Bite Club — something to look forward to.

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