Tauranga early learning centres smile their way to success

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 Oral Health Challenge - organised by the local Health New Zealand Oral Health Promotion team.

Imagine That Preschoolin Pyes Pa is this year’s winner, with The Village and Maungatapu preschools rounding out the top three.

The theme for World Oral Health Day 2025 was “A Happy Mouth Is … A Happy Mind” and early learning centres were encouraged to show how they incorporated this theme in their submission.

Health NZ Oral Health Promoter, Nicole D’cruz says the standard of entries received this year exceeded their 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,” she says.

“Huge congratulations to Imagine That Preschool for coming 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.”

Imagine That Preschool teacher, Andrea Melville says the challenge was a great opportunity for children to learn about oral hygiene and healthy eating.

“We focussed on how to properly brush teeth and the importance of brushing the whole mouth including hard to reach places. We also taught our children about healthy eating and the importance of choosing foods that nourish their bodies,” says Andrea.

“They loved it and were very responsive. Practicing how to use a toothbrush on an artificial mouth was something a bit different for them and they all wanted to line up and have a go! It was great to see them practicing at home and to have parents and caregivers getting involved too.”

Prizes include toothbrushes and toothpaste and fruit and veggie boxes.