Looking after children’s healthy teeth
Tips and advice for the healthy teeth of your nursery kids
Eating lots of sugary foods increase the chances of tooth decay, but so do many other foods. Any carbohydrate/containing food that sticks to the teeth will encourage decay. Especially if it is eaten frequently throughout the day. Acidic foods and drinks should also be avoided because they cause enamel erosion – literally dissolving the tooth away. There are a number of things you can encourage your children to do to prevent tooth decay and erosion.
How can we take care of the healthy teeth of kindergarten kid?
- Brush their teeth with a little fluoride toothpaste, ideally after each meal. Aim for a minimum of twice a day, after breakfast and before bed.
- Avoid sweet or sugary foods and drinks between meals.
- Avoid sugary food or drink within an hour of bedtime – water or milk are the only `safe` drinks.
- Limit acidic drinks, such as soft drinks, squash and fruit juice, to meal times.
- Encourage water between meals, alternatively milk or very diluted fruit juice.
- Avoid sticky foods between meals: sweets, chocolate, biscuits, raisins and other fried fruit and fruit bars. These leave residues on the teeth, increasing the risk of decay. Note: Dried fruits are as potentially harmful to teeth as sweets!
- If sugary foods or drinks are eaten, then it is better to finish them quickly than eating a packet of sweets or sipping a drink over an hour or more.
- Encourage the drinking of acidic drinks with a straw. This reduces the contact of the drink with the teeth. Sugar-free drinks are not necessarily better for children`s teeth as they are quite acidic and can cause dental erosion.
- Have a cube of cheese, plain yoghurt, milk or nuts, at the end of a meal. These foods are `safe` for teeth. Eating cheese at the end of a meal or a snack encourages remineralisation of tooth enamel and so helps counteract the harmful effects of sugar and acids.
ORGANIC FOOD … Follows ….
