It is important to establish good habits at an early age.   This is why Dr. Keith Tang, a family dentist in the Irvine area has been visiting preschools and elementary schools talking about dental health.    His main message is "How to Keep Your Teeth Healthy."   In his presentation, he reviews with the children what it means to eat right from My Pyramid, how to brush and floss their teeth, and why it's important to see their dentist for checkups at least twice a year.

Children can be a difficult audience for a speaker, but Dr. Tang says the key to holding their attention is to keep the presentation moving.     Every few minutes, he shows them something different.      He begins the presentation on PowerPoint, and switches back and forth to a dental cartoon on DVD, a brushing demonstration with Doogan the dog (dental puppet), and a flossing illustration on oversized models of teeth that he designed for touch and feel of a tooth with a cavity.   There is even a "pretend sugar bug" (bacteria) that he shows them so that they will have a visual representation of "what causes a cavity" and "what they are brushing and flossing away."     Judging from the letters from the children and comments from the parents, children find the presentation very entertaining and he is making a solid impression on their young minds