How your child's diet affects teeth

  • Published
  • By Capt. Ashley Brooks
  • 7th Aerospace Medicine Squadron
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  February is National Children's Dental Health Month. The focus of this month is to raise awareness about your child's oral health. Your child's oral hygiene and daily habits can play an important role in their long term oral health. Let's take a look to see if they are on the right track.

Now that the holidays have passed, you may have those leftover sweets that your children love. Certain sweets are more harmful than others. Sticky sweets tend to stay in the mouth longer and aren't as easily swept away by saliva. Candies such as gummy bears and hard candies take longer to eat as compared to a chocolate bar. If your child must indulge, chocolate is the better choice. Chocolate has calcium and melts more quickly, moving away from the teeth and into the stomach.

Tooth decay occurs when a film of bacteria called "plaque" constantly forms on the teeth and gums. When these bacteria come into contact with sugar or starch in the mouth, they produce acid that attacks the teeth for 20 minutes or more. Repeated attacks can cause tooth enamel to break down, eventually resulting in tooth decay. So, two factors play a role in cavities: quantity of food and quantity of time sweets exist in the mouth. Children who snack on sweets all day are at a much higher risk of cavities.

The American Dental Association offers the following tips to help reduce tooth decay risk and still enjoy sweets:
1. Consume sugary foods with meals. Saliva production increases during meals and helps neutralize acid production and rinse food particles from the mouth.

2. Limit between-meals snacks. If your child craves a snack, choose nutritious foods and consider offering sugarless gum afterward. Sugarless gum increases saliva flow and helps wash out food and decay-producing acid.

3. Drink more water. Consuming optimally fluoridated water, such as tap water, can help prevent tooth decay. If you choose bottled water, check the label for the fluoride content.

4. Brush your child's teeth twice daily and floss daily with ADA-Accepted dental products. See your dentist regularly.

Additional information concerning your child's oral health can be found at www.ada.org.