Puppet Theater as a Strategy for Promoting Oral Self-Care in Children: An Experience Report

Objective: To present an experience report on the use of puppet theater to provide oral health education to preschool children attending a public educational institution in Brazil. Methodology: An educational activity was carried out with 122 children aged 5 to 7 years. The puppet play lasted approximately 10 minutes. For the planning, development, and implementation of this educational action, the team organized itself with clearly defined responsibilities. The script addressed the following aspects: dental caries and its causes, toothbrushing technique and dental flossing, dental visits, and healthy eating. Experience Report: The children’s reactions revealed curiosity, expectation, and anxiety before the presentation; during the play, their responses shifted to fascination, joy, and motivation for new learning. By interacting playfully with the real world, the child establishes harmony and synchrony between imagination and reality, which facilitates the learning process. The drawings produced by the children after the activity were directly related to the theater’s theme, illustrating oral hygiene items such as toothbrushes, toothpaste, and dental floss. Conclusion: Puppet theater enables the presentation of health-related issues in a didactic and engaging manner, especially for children. In this experience, children demonstrated fascination, joy, and motivation toward acquiring new knowledge.