Taking care of your children’s teeth is an important part of their personal health. But by making simple food swaps, you are helping keep those smiles healthy and beautiful! Our friends at Children’s Dental Center are sharing a simple list of foods that you SHOULD eat and ones that you should AVOID when it comes to taking care of your family’s teeth.
Eat This! Not That
Eat Chewable Vitamins — Not Gummy Vitamins
While gummy vitamins may be more appealing to your kiddos, they aren’t necessarily the best choice. They may be tastier but gummy vitamins are more likely to get stuck on and in between those little teeth. So if you can, choose chewable vitamins first!
Eat Fresh Fruit — Not Fruit Snacks
Who doesn’t love a pack of fruit snacks? However, offering fresh fruit more often than fruit snacks is definitely a better choice. Fruit Snacks are higher in sugar and will stick to little teeth longer than a piece of fruit will.
Eat Cheese — Not Raisins
Cheese sticks and slices are not only great snack choices but help promote strong teeth because of the calcium. While raisins may seem like a good snack choice, compared to cheese they are stickier which in turn sticks on teeth and in between which can lead ot cavities if proper brushing isn’t practiced.
Eat Sugar-Free Gum — Not Bubble Gum
Sugar-free gum actually helps prevent tooth decay! Studies show that by chewing sugar-free gum, it has been shown to increase saliva which reduces the plaque acid and makes the teeth stronger, which helps reduce tooth decay. Bubble Gum is fun for blowing bubbles but also full of sugar that causes cavities.
Drink Flavored Water — Not Sports Drinks
We can all agree that regular H2O is always going to be the best choice. However, sports drinks can really cause damage those young teeth! While the high amount of sugar doesn’t help, sports drinks contain high levels of acidity that are even worse than the sugar. The acid can break down the enamel in teeth causing damage and sensitivity.
Eat Yogurt — Not Ice Cream
Not that you should never eat ice cream again (because that would just be crazy!) but yogurt is high in calcium so it keeps teeth strong and also helps prevent tooth decay in permanent teeth by strengthening the enamel.
Eat Cooked Cereal — Not Dry Sugar Cereal
While the kid cereal with the brightly colored characters is more fun, make sure you are looking at the ingredients of the breakfast foods you are buying. Hot homemade oatmeal or cream of wheat are excellent choices because they are full of whole grains, which is great for growing teeth.
While we aren’t saying you have to avoid these foods completely, this list is a helpful tool for you to use when making food and snack choices for your family. But most importantly, make sure your children are brushing their teeth twice a day as well as flossing daily too!
For more information, visit Children’s Dental Center on Facebook or online!
