Tooth savers Brushing Game
A Fun way to get children to brush their teeth
APP DETAILS
Developer – Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives
Age – 2 to 6 year olds
Skill – Life skills
Score – 72/100
Price – Free
App Store Link - http://geni.us/1LPl
Play Store Link – https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=air.com.A2min2x.toothsavers
Windows Store Link - Not Available
App Review
Toothsavers Brushing Game is produced by the Partnership for Healthy Mouths, Healthy Lives a part of the Kids’ Healthy Mouths campaign. This aims to motivate parents to take action to reduce the risk of oral disease by making sure that their children are brushing their teeth for two minutes, twice daily. It is completely free to download and makes the act and routine of teeth brushing into a fun game.
Three Modes of Play
There are three modes of play - Brush with Toothsaver, Play with Toothsaver and Have Fun with your Friends. The most important of these is the “Brush with Toothsaver” mode. Here, children are shown how to brush their teeth properly with the help of a series of amusing but instructional animations. These feature various Toothsaver characters and they demonstrate good brushing technique in a clear and easy to follow way. The children are expected to brush their own teeth along with the video for 2 minutes and receive plenty of encouragement from the child narrator as they do so. The two minutes actually passes very quickly and if the tutorial is followed correctly, by the end the child will have done a pretty thorough job on their own teeth. Parents do, of course, need to monitor this closely and can decide if they have done enough to unlock new characters.
Spells and Sorcery
There is a nice backstory threaded through Toothsavers Brushing Game in which the characters are fighting against an evil sorceress. She has cast a wicked spell, leaving everyone’s mouths to rot and be overrun by cavities. This spell can only be broken by regular teeth brushing and it is up to the child to help the Toothsavers to save everyone’s teeth. As the child continues to brush their teeth twice daily their progress is displayed on a map. It takes 30 days to break the spell and unlock all the characters, enough time for the habit of regular brushing to be firmly established.
The “Play with Toothsavers” mode allows children to brush the food-covered teeth of the onscreen characters. They do this by swiping with their fingers to remove the over the top images of food from the Toothsaver’s teeth. Children also need to tap on the evil bacteria to eliminate them. The aim is to make the teeth as clean as possible in two minutes. The process may look funny but it is an effective way to show kids how important it is to brush their teeth and it also emphasises just how long they need to do it for. Children can earn up to three stars for their brushing and they also get helpful advice on proper brushing techniques as they work on the Toothsavers' teeth.
Inconsistent
The final mode “Have Fun with your Friends” is best used with a smartphone because it allows children to place the cursed teeth over their own mouth. It is supposed to move when they talk but I did find it to be inconsistent. As well as laughing at how they might look with dirty and decaying teeth children can also get a friend to brush away the food and bacteria.
Toothsavers Brushing Game does not contain any adverts or in-app purchases. The Parents’ section allows adults to set up daily brushing times and, if they wish, they can receive push reminders that it is time to brush. Parents can also monitor their child’s brushing progress on the calendar. If desired, parents can choose to share their kids’ brushing milestone via Facebook but this facility is protected behind a parental gate.
Great for Children and Parents
Toothsavers Brushing Game is an app that will appeal to both parents and children in equal measure. Kids will love using "Brush with Toothsaver" because it makes brushing into a game rather than a chore and parents will love it because their little one are motivated to brush, i.e. no more nagging!
Peter
Educational App Advice
About Educational App Advice
Email: petermaxwell@mail.com
Facebook: facebook.com/educationalappadvice
Twitter: @edappadvice