The children at a Tauranga Early Learning Centre are proud to show off their pearly whites after coming first in the Health New Zealand Bay of Plenty annual oral health challenge.

Early Learning Centres across the Western Bay were invited to take part in the annual World Oral Health Day Challenge, which was organised by the local Health New Zealand Oral Health Promotion team.

Tot Spot Early Learning Centre in Greerton is this year’s winner. The top three placings were:

1st: The Tot Spot Early Learning Centre

2nd: Arataki Kindergarten

3rd: Above and Beyond Tauriko

The theme for World Oral Health Day 2024 was “A Happy Mouth Is … A Happy Body” and ELCs were encouraged to show how they incorporated this theme in their submission.

Oral health promoter Nicole D’cruz said the standard of entries received this year exceeded organisers' expectations.

“A round of applause to everyone who entered and to our three winners; we appreciate the hard work all centres put in towards the challenge. Ka pai te mahi.

“Huge congratulations to The Tot Spot for coming in first place! We enjoyed seeing how much work they put into their submission. They excelled in all the activities they did with the children and had great parent involvement.”

The Tot Spot teacher Rajwinder Kaur said the challenge has been a great opportunity for children to learn about personal hygiene and the importance of daily teeth cleaning.

“By making the learning fun, the children at our centre now understand the reasons why we need to brush our teeth twice a day. The children have really embraced the World Oral Health Day Challenge, and we are delighted to see their hard work recognised.”

Prizes include toothbrushes, toothpaste, and fruit and vege boxes.