Sugar Bug Sweep

The big ideas

What the levels teach, in grown-up words.

• Sugar bugs are real: they are bacteria. Plaque is a sticky film of bacteria on teeth. When they get sugar, they make acid, and acid dissolves the hard outside of a tooth. Enough acid, and a hole (a cavity) forms.
• Brush twice a day, two minutes, every side. Morning and night, front, inside and chewing surfaces, with a fluoride toothpaste. Children usually need a grown-up's help until about age 7 or 8.
• Floss reaches where the brush cannot. Bugs hide between teeth. Floss or little brushes clean those gaps once a day.
• How often matters more than how much. Every sugary snack or drink starts an acid attack that lasts about half an hour. Sweets with meals mean fewer attacks than sweets all day.
• The dentist finds what you cannot see. Regular checkups catch holes early, x-rays see between teeth, and fluoride varnish makes enamel harder.

Try it at home

Quick experiments that match the game.

1. Disclosing tablets. Chew a plaque-disclosing tablet from the pharmacy before brushing. It stains the plaque so your child can see where the bugs were hiding, then brush until the color is gone.
2. Egg in vinegar. Leave an egg (a tooth stand-in) in vinegar overnight and feel how soft the shell gets. That is what acid does to teeth.
3. Sugar count. Look at the labels of three drinks and spoon out the sugar they contain into a bowl. A can of soda has about ten spoons.
4. Brush-along song. Play a two-minute song at every brushing. Change corners every time the chorus comes round.