We were very lucky to get a place for the Be-A-Dentist Day event organised by the Paediatric Dentistry Unit of the National Dental Centre Singapore. The event was held last Saturday and Anya had a really great time!

For our first station, they got the kids to bend some pipe cleaners into the shape of a star wand. According to them, the purpose of this exercise was to let the kids practise bending orthodontic wires for braces. This was something Anya could relate to because I just got my braces off recently after wearing them for almost 3 years.

For our next station, the children will told to pick 5 items for dinner. When the kids returned with their loot, they will told which items were good for their teeth and which were not so good. Then they were asked to pick another 5 items, keeping in mind that these items should be good for the teeth. Anya was a bit upset that all the items she had picked in the first round were bad for her teeth so she didn’t want to do the next round!

At the next station, the kids cleaned out the ‘decayed material’ from a tooth model and then patched it up. I felt that this station was very relevant to the activity of experiencing what it’s like to be a dentist. Anya liked this station and was very pleased with the tooth she patched up. We got to keep the little tooth model so she can practise as much as she likes at home!

Then, we headed to the station that all the parents were looking forward to: dress-up! The kids looked really adorable in their blue surgical gown and shower cap. At this station, the kids also learnt about the bacteria on their hands and the importance of cleaning their hands well before treating their patients.

For our final station, Anya gave me a dental check-up! Dr Tan Wee Kiat very patiently (and humourously) took Anya and another girl through the different steps that they had to take to give their patient a thorough check-up. This was definitely Anya’s favourite station because it was very hands-on: she got to move the dental chair up and down, feel how the different dental tools work, and look very closely at my teeth.

We had a good time at NCDS Be-A-Dentist Day and Anya now declares that she wants to be a dentist when she grows up. For now, I just want her to be more enthusiastic about dental hygiene and do a better job of keeping her teeth in good condition so that we can avoid painful (for her teeth and for my wallet) trips to the dentist!