The foods YOU can feed your children to combat the causes of tooth decay
TOOTH decay is on the rise among children in England for the fourth year in a row and more and more children are having their teeth removed because of it.
However there are some simple things you can do to stop your child losing teeth in the dentists chair.
Dr Henry Clover, Chief Dental Officer at Denplan, has revealed the foods you should be feeding your children and those to avoid if you are concerned about tooth decay.
Most parent’s know to stop feeding their child sugar if they want them to have healthy teeth, but did you know how often teeth are exposed is also important?
Dr Henry explained: “Anything that contains sugar can potentially increase the risk of tooth decay.
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“However, it’s how often the teeth are exposed to sugar that causes the problem.
“Frequent consumption of sugary foods and drinks throughout the day, on a regular basis, will cause the most amount of problems.
“There are the obvious items such as sweets, chocolate, cakes, biscuits and fizzy drinks that most people know are bad for teeth, but dentists often see childhood tooth decay caused by lesser-known offenders.
“Sugary drinks, including fruit juice, sports drinks and smoothies, are common childhood tooth decay culprits, especially if they are given to children in a bottle or sippy cup as this increases the sugar’s contact with teeth.
“Dried fruit is another common cause as parents often give these as snacks throughout the day thinking that they’re healthy, whereas they’re actually packed full of concentrated fructose, and their sticky texture means they cling to the teeth for a long time, increasing the sugar exposure.
“Some yoghurts and milkshakes also contain surprising amounts of sugar.”
Dr Henry advised the foods you should be feeding your child if you want to avoid tooth decay.
He said: “Try to give your child food and snacks that you’ve made yourself, so that you know exactly what’s in them.
“Many pre-made foods contain hidden sugars, so it’s important to always read the ingredients labels and be aware of the alternative names for sugar that manufacturers use.
“These include any words ending in ‘ose’ such as dextrose, maltose, sucrose, as well as other disguised terms including hydrolysed starch, corn syrup, and molasses.
“Remember it’s the frequency of sugar exposure that does the damage.
“This means that any sugary treats, including fruit juices and smoothies, are best given to children as part of a meal and never as a snack - always dilute fruit juices too.
Children's rotting teeth costs NHS £35m a year
“The best snacks for young teeth are cheese, nuts, plain breadsticks and rice cakes, and crunchy raw vegetables such as carrot sticks.
“The best drinks are water and plain milk.
“If they want something sweet, offer fresh fruit such as apple slices or lower sugar berries such as blueberries.”
If it has got to the point your children need fillings, what do you need to know?
Dr Henry advised: “Both amalgam and white fillings are safe for children and there is no evidence to suggest that either cause problems later in life.
“If anything, the emotional effects of having dental treatment at a young age could be something that affects them later in life, even if they visit a dental team who are brilliant with children and who place the filling painlessly.
“Toothache can be very upsetting for children and they may associate this with a negative experience of dental care, potentially establishing a fear of dentists into their adulthood and lead to them avoiding visiting the dentist regularly.”
Denplan is encouraging all parent to take part in the Big Summer Brush-Up, making the most of the summer holidays to visit the dentist and spend time practising brushing techniques with their children.
To find out more about how to improve your family’s oral health visit www.bigsummerbrushup.co.uk or visit your local Denplan dentist.
