Most people think that sweets and lollies are the main foods to blame for tooth decay but bacteria not only use the sugar in sweets to create acid but can also use any food that contains sugars and other carbohydrates. This includes fruits, peanut butter, biscuits, crackers, potato chips, dried fruit snack bars, muesli bars and popcorn to name a few. Especially harmful can be foods like raisins and peanut butter that stick to teeth where they provide a constant source of energy for bacteria.
It’s not practical to cut out these foods completely but, while your kids are in the 7 Day Dental Bootcamp, we want them to think before they snack. Doing Day Four’s exercise will plant a useful seed in their minds about tooth-friendly eating.
So what foods provide a good alternative? Recent research shows that cheese is one of the healthiest snacks for your child’s teeth. In addition to providing large amounts of much-needed calcium, cheese also does its part to fight cavities. Cheddar, Swiss and mozzarella all stimulate saliva glands to clear the mouth of debris. Saliva provides a strong protective film to the teeth and helps to wash away and neutralise the damaging acids. Other good snacks are nuts and fruit (as long as you wash it down with some water straight after you’ve eaten).
For more information on a tooth-friendly diet you can read our fact sheet Your Child’s Diet in the Parents section of this site.
Exercise
This one is very simple but kids might find it harder than you think.
Cut out all snack foods between meals. If your child has to have a snack to keep them going before dinner, make sure they eat only foods that will be kind to their teeth like cheese, nuts or fruit and get them to wash it down with a glass of water immediately after eating. Acid plaque attacks can last up to 20 minutes after you’ve eaten (even if you’ve just had a nibble). The more times you eat during the day the longer your teeth are going to be exposed to acid plaque.
Only eat sweet things at the end of a meal when your saliva is working at it’s best to wash away food particles and bacteria. Better still, stick to cheese or fruit after a meal.
After every meal wash food down with water (not sugary carbonated or sports drinks) and chew sugar free gum for 10 minutes to stimulate saliva flow. All this will help to quickly get rid of food particles and bacteria instead of allowing them to sit there causing damage to teeth.
