ABC Listen.
Hello, my name is Nige.
And today, on Imagine This, I'm making a triple chocolate caramel, fudge super sundae with extra sprinkles.
What else can we put on?
Ice cream.
Chocolate.
I love jelly beans.
Donuts?
Oh yeah, that's a good one.
Donuts?
Is it really?
Yeah, let's give it a go.
Chuck it on there.
Lollipops.
Oh, hang on.
Get the sticks off first.
And here comes the whipped cream.
And a cherry on top.
Bon appetit.
Ouch!
My tooth!
What's happening?
Sugar.
Sugar is bad for our teeth.
If you eat too many lollies, it makes them maybe rot a little bit.
And you'll get holes in them.
You'll get a toothache that really, really, really hurts.
Have you been brushing your teeth?
Yeah, I do.
Sometimes I forget.
I always don't like doing my teeth, but I do it anyway.
Did you have to brush them?
Why?
Because that will help it get clean.
Well, it's not just me.
Matilda, Elizabeth and Ella have been wondering the same thing.
Hi Nietzsche, I'm Matilda and I'm five years old.
My name's Ella and I'm four and three quarters.
I'm Elizabeth and I'm eight years old.
And I want to know, why do we have to take care of our teeth?
Why do we have to brush our teeth?
We should ask the dentist if you don't brush your teeth.
Good idea.
I've been to a dentist sometimes. when your teeth is not too clean.
A dentist helps you brush it and also help to get your teeth better.
Let's talk to Dr Mihiri Silva and maybe she can check out my tooth.
Hi Dr Silva.
Hello.
Hi Mihiri.
Hello, nice to see you.
What can I do for you today?
My tooth hurts.
He doesn't want to brush his teeth.
I do kind of want to, I just sometimes forget.
We should all definitely be brushing our teeth with a fluoridated toothpaste.
I do it two times, one in the morning and one at night.
That's it.
Brushing our teeth keeps them clean and healthy.
Why?
It helps protect them from getting holes.
But how?
Well, I could tell you, but it's so much more fun if I show you.
Definitely.
For sure.
Excellent.
I want you to imagine yourself very small.
We're going to take a close look at some teeth.
Say ah.
Ah.
Oh, we're inside a mouth.
Hello, Echo.
It's dark.
It's all wet.
Oh, you spit.
The tongue feels bouncy like a trampoline.
Boing, boing, boing.
Ew, the cheeks are all slimy.
What are teeth made of?
Teeth have a few layers to them.
The centre of them is soft.
We call it the pulp.
The pulp is protected by a strong outer layer.
It's made up of mostly calcium.
Calcium?
That's in dairy.
It's in foods like yoghurt and milk.
Yes.
So if I drink lots of milk, I don't have to brush my teeth?
No.
No.
Eating cheese and drinking milk doesn't really help your teeth.
But you know what does?
Saliva.
Wow, that's disgusting.
Saliva is great.
It's full of calcium and it's always washing over our teeth.
Ouch, I stubbed my toe on this tooth.
It's so hard.
What's this hard stuff?
The outside of a tooth is made of enamel.
It's the strongest stuff in your whole body.
Wow.
Stronger than a booger?
Even stronger.
Boogers are really weak.
Stronger than a whole wagon full of donkeys.
Okay, maybe not that strong.
If enamel is so strong, Then how come we get holes in our teeth?
Well, your teeth aren't the only things that call your mouth home.
There's something else in here?
Where?
They're too small to see with our eyes.
Let's switch to microscopic view.
Hey!
How are ya?
Hello!
What's up?
How's it going, guys?
Ah!
What are they?
Bacteria.
Hmm, bacteria makes you sick.
They're germs.
Some bacteria can make you sick, but most are good for us.
They live on our skin and in our gut, and there are lots that live in your mouth.
How many?
There are more microscopic bugs in your mouth than there are people on the whole planet.
Whoa.
Wow, the food you eat.
Even if you brush your teeth perfectly, There are always tiny, microscopic bits of food left in your mouth.
And these bugs will eat it.
Oh, celery, that's a super food.
Have you seen behind the mower?
There's heaps of good stuff back here.
What's that?
Is that a bit of rice?
I love these bugs.
It's like they're cleaning our teeth for us.
You still have to brush.
A healthy mouth will always have these little bugs living in them.
They make and live in the sticky stuff on your teeth.
We call it plaque.
I thought plaque was bad.
It's normal to have plaque, but you don't want to have too much.
Now that you mention it, my teeth do feel a bit fuzzy.
So every morning we brush, we clean up the bugs and get all that sticky plaque off our teeth.
Whoa, here comes the toothbrush now.
It's a party.
It's like being in a car wash.
What's a car?
Who cares?
It's foam.
Foam party.
Bubble party.
We're in the foam zone.
It's like a disco in here.
It's so minty.
And then over the course of the day, as we eat breakfast, lunch and dinner...
The bugs eat the food you're eating.
More of them grow and you might start getting that furry feeling back again.
And then you brush your teeth before bed.
Exactly.
Pass the nighttime brush.
Here we go again.
Check out my mint fork.
Get it?
It's like moonwalk but with tooth paste.
Oi, nice move, mate.
Cutting up that D floor.
More like the T floor.
Because we're on the turn.
I want to have this disco dance party every night and every morning.
Yeah.
These bugs are great.
They're not giving me a toothache, are they?
No, this back and forth of bugs growing and then brushing them off is totally normal and healthy.
Toothaches happen when this balance is thrown off and we start to see tooth decay.
Tooth decay?
I think it means your teeth are sick.
It also means your teeth have holes in them.
Yes.
Acid.
Acid?
How does acid get in our mouths?
Sugar.
When we have sugary drinks like juice or soft drink, or if we eat lots of lollies cakes cookies, triple choc fudge brownie mudslide, super choc sundae with extra sprinkles.
Mm-hmm.
If we have just a little bit of sugar, it's usually okay.
Our lovely saliva can wash away the acid and keep our teeth coated in calcium.
But if there's too much acid, the good bugs move out and the bad ones move in.
Hello, hello, hello.
Whoa, these bugs are different.
And they start to make acid.
Yes, we love sugar and breaking stuff.
That doesn't sound good.
The acid can get through the tough enamel so much that our teeth start to break and crumble.
Oh, I love the smell of cavities in the morning.
Hey, they're making holes.
They're making holes in the teeth.
Smash them, fellas.
Oh, that's going to be hard to fix.
Stomp on the gums.
I want to make them real sensitive.
Ah.
This is what gives you a toothache.
Yes!
What happens if I get a hole in my tooth?
What happens if I get a hole?
Yeah, our skin always heals when we get a cut and bones can heal if you break them.
Can teeth heal themselves too?
Unfortunately, teeth try their best but they can't really fix themselves if they get big holes.
But a dentist like me can fix it.
Mihiri, what's the best way to brush my teeth?
I don't want those acid bugs coming back.
I'd say it's important to pay attention.
Look in the mirror while you brush and make sure your toothbrush is on your teeth.
Okay, step one.
Look in the mirror.
It's always good to ask a grown-up to help you too.
Step two, ask for help if I need it.
Take your time.
It should take about two minutes.
Step three, okay, two minutes.
Should I count?
Listen to a song.
Oh yeah, if it's a two minute song, I'll know that I've brushed for the right amount of time.
I recommend starting at one side and working your way all around, and then brush the tops of the teeth at the end.
Make sure you brush around your gums too.
That's where the bugs are really good at hiding.
Side to side, up and down, don't forget around the gums.
It's like a song already.
If you eat fruits and veggies and drink lots of water, your mouth will stay healthy too.
I eat broccoli at my home.
And the best best, best thing to do is brush your teeth morning and night with fluoridated toothpaste.
And don't eat lots of lollies.
That's it.
Thanks, Mihiri.
I'm going to go home and brush right now.
Thank you.
Bye.
Thank you.
Anytime.
So, Matilda, Elizabeth and Ella, we all need to brush our teeth.
Every morning and every night.
To keep our mouths clean and help protect our teeth from decay.
That's when you get holes in them.
Our mouths are home to millions and billions of tiny bugs, bacteria that eat the leftover food between our teeth and make sticky plaque.
If we don't clean the bacteria and plaque off our teeth every day and if we eat too much sugar, more and more bugs can arrive and they can start to make acid in our mouths.
This acid can stay on our teeth And that can wear away the tough enamel on the outside and make a hole on the inside of our teeth.
Ooh, ouch.
Sometimes, even if we do our best to brush and not eat sugar, we can still end up with holes in our teeth.
But that's OK, because we can go to the dentist.
Like Mihiri.
Where they'll look in your mouth Say ah.
Ah.
Clean off the bugs and patch up the holes and keep our teeth and mouths clean and healthy.
Imagine This is an ABC Kids Listen podcast hosted by me, Dr Neeraj Lal.
A big thanks to our guest, Dr Mahiri Silva, and to all the kids who helped make the show.
Today's episode was written and produced by Samia Bella, with sound design by Wayne Ewan, and was made on Wurundjeri Woiwurrung Turbul Palawa Bidjigal, Darug and Gadigal lands.
Our executive producer is Emma Gibbs.
For more podcasts to play, music to move and stories and soundtracks for sleep.
Download the ABC Kids Listen app free from your app store.
Or look for ABC Kids Listen on the ABC Listen app.
