5 SURPRISING FOODS THAT CAN DAMAGE YOUR CHILD'S TEETH Written By: Dr. Ankita Shah, April 2019
We all want to protect our child’s precious pearly whites in the best possible ways. Nearly everyone is familiar that brushing, flossing and rinsing our mouth are great ways to protect our teeth from cavities. But did you know that we can also protect our teeth with the help of a balanced diet and avoiding certain foods?
The continuous snacking or sipping adds to the mayhem of triggering tooth decay. It is worse than even a late night bowl of ice cream. Remember that the more often you eat sugars and other carbs like a spoonful of sugar in your coffee or milk or a nicely glazed donut, croissant or cakes etc., the more often acids are created by the bacteria to damage your teeth. On the whole it’s best to gobble out once than to snack all day.
Let's take a look at the 5 most surprising foods that we should avoid to protect our child’s teeth.
#1 FRUITS JUICES, CARBONATED BEVERAGES, SPORTS DRINKS & VITAMIN WATER:
Fruit juices and all their sugar loaded cousins like carbonated beverages, sports drinks, vitamin waters, bottled ice teas are bad for body and terrible for teeth. Likewise even the diet drinks aren’t safe for your teeth! The damage is threefold when these liquids are consumed using a sippy cup. It releases the juice slowly which in turn increases the time of pooling in the mouth.
#2 STARCHY FOOD:
Children largely stick to eating meals they are comfortable with meal after meal. Starchy foods like rice, bread, pasta, potato chips and French fries are refined carbohydrates. These starches convert into sugars immediately by bacteria and pre digestive enzymes present in the mouth even though they do not contain sugars per se. These foods are awfully sticky and they get lodged between the teeth. Can you envision the damage to your toddler’s teeth with a jam sandwich?
#3 DRIED FRUITS:
Fresh fruits when dried can go from an angel to devil for your teeth. Kids are really fond of dried fruits like dates, raisins, apricots, cranberries etc. The sugars are in a highly concentrated form and their gummy texture clings to teeth just like a toffee. Additionally these fruits are packed with non-soluble cellulose fibre which can adhere to the teeth and trap sugars making it worse than a candy. It promptly turns into a feast for the bacteria and can wreck a havoc in the teeth.
#4 SWEETS:
Who isn’t fond of candies, taffies, peppermints, lemon drops, lollipops, caramels? But did you know all these gooey, sticky and chewy sweets are extremely damaging to our teeth than a bar of chocolate. They contain tons of sugar and get lodged between your teeth. Additionally they also spend an extra time in your mouth giving your teeth a longer sugar bath. The sugar provides perfect nutrition for the bacteria to grow in your mouth. Sweets should stay in the mouth as briefly as possible.
#5 POPCORN:
A movie night or a playtime is incomplete without munching on popcorn. Popcorn kernels frequently get stuck in your teeth and can be hard to remove even with a brush or floss. Just imagine the havoc a caramel popcorn can create in your mouth.
Unfortunately some foods are very harmful for your teeth. Eating the right and healthy foods can help protect you from tooth decay and other diseases. The next time you reach for a snack, think about the texture of the food, how long will it stay in your mouth and how many times a day you are going to consume it?
Snack smart and be choosy!
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Keywords : Damage your teeth, soda, sweets, dried fruits, popcorn, pasta, bread, jam, tips
Note : This article was written and published by Dr. Ankita Shah for WorldOfMoms.