Smart Diet Choices for Your Child’s Dental Health
A child’s healthy smile is a beautiful thing. At Konikoff Dental Associates in Chesapeake, VA, we’re eager to see that smile last for a lifetime. Did you know that diet plays a major role in the development and growth of your child’s teeth? The food and drinks that they dine on today can have a major impact on both their oral health and their overall health tomorrow.
When you feed your child a healthy diet that’s full of the right nutrients, you’re setting the stage for your child to build strong healthy teeth that will last a lifetime. However, if you offer them a diet that’s packed with processed food, sugar, and acidic options, you may be aiding and abetting the agents of tooth decay. Your pediatric dentist in Chesapeake, VA can help you map out a menu with some suggestions for healthy foods.
Learning About Tooth-friendly Nutrients
Children’s bodies need a variety of vitamins and minerals to grow up strong and healthy. Three nutrients are especially important for your child’s oral health. Being aware of them and working to see that your child gets enough of them is a smart way to safeguard your child’s smile.
Calcium is a vital mineral for both teeth and bone development. To ensure that your child’s diet includes plenty of calcium, serve up dairy products like milk, cheese, and yogurt. If your little one isn’t a fan of dairy, there are other choices. Leafy greens such as kale, turnip greens, and broccoli are excellent sources. Canned sardines and salmon are also options. You can also look for fortified foods. Both orange juices and breakfast cereals are often fortified with calcium.
Vitamin D is another crucial nutrient for healthy teeth. This vitamin helps the body absorb and retain calcium. It also aids in remineralizing and strengthening teeth. Which foods contain vitamin D? Great sources of vitamin D include fish like salmon and tuna, beef liver, egg yolks, and fortified foods like milk, orange juice, and cereal.
Phosphorous isn’t as popular as some other vitamins, but it’s critical for teeth. It not only helps with the absorption of calcium but also serves as a key element in enamel repair. Thankfully, phosphorous is widely available. It’s in dairy, meats, poultry, eggs, vegetables, and whole grains.
Choose Fruits and Vegetables
Colorful fruits and vegetables offer calcium, vitamin D, phosphorous, and other vitamins and minerals that are needed for growing healthy teeth and healthy bodies. They also offer plenty of delicious flavors and fun textures. Many provide satisfying crunches. With apples, carrots, celery, melons, broccoli, pears, strawberries, and more on the menu, it’s clear that there are plenty of tasty possibilities for tooth-friendly dining.
Select Whole Grains
Why does it matter to your child’s teeth whether a carb is made from refined grains or whole grains? It matters because it takes longer to break whole grains into cavity-causing sugars. Therefore, eating them reduces the risk of tooth decay. Plus, whole grains are high in fiber, so they help keep the digestive system functioning smoothly. Kid-friendly whole grains are easy to find. Popcorn, oatmeal, whole wheat crackers, and whole wheat bread are all good choices.
Consider Nuts and Seeds
Children are proof that great things come in small packages. If you need another example, consider nuts and seeds. They’re an excellent source of healthy vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats. Almonds, walnuts, peanuts, sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds make fun snacks. For variety, mix it up with blends or flavored varieties.
Drink Water
Drinking water keeps it simple. It’s a great habit for both your child’s overall health and their oral health. Consuming water regularly helps children stay hydrated and aids in caring for their teeth. As a sugar-free beverage, water protects teeth by diminishing the chance of tooth decay. It rinses away food particles and neutralizes the acid produced by the bacteria that are naturally present in the mouth.
Choose Smile-friendly Snacks
Smart snacking is a clever way to get more nutrients and keep your child’s energy levels up. If you want smile-friendly snacks, you have plenty of choices:
- Lunch meat and cheese rollups
- Apples with peanut butter
- Pears with yogurt
- Strawberries
- Cheese
- Cucumbers with hummus
- Carrots and celery with almond butter
- Broccoli with hummus
- Milk with low-sugar cereal
- Cottage cheese or low-sugar yogurt
Is your child prone to grazing? Be careful. Snacking frequently can increase a child’s risk of developing cavities. When sugary food or drinks are ingested, the bacteria in the mouth produce harmful acids. These acids linger in the mouth for up to 20 minutes after food is consumed, attacking the tooth enamel. Repeated attacks can leave the teeth weakened. Choosing a limited number of healthy, nutritious snacks and drinking lots of water can help protect your child’s smile.
Beware of Sugar-filled Snacks
Many snacks that masquerade as healthy aren’t. While they might taste good, they’re filled with sugar, so eating them can increase your child’s risk of cavities. To protect your child’s smile, make it a point to avoid these snacks:
- Sports drinks
- Fruit snacks and fruit leathers
- Dried fruit
- Energy and protein bars
- Granola bars
- Potato chips
- Crackers made from refined grains
These snacks are high in calories and sugars or other sweeteners. Many also contain gluey ingredients that can stick to the teeth long after the snack has been eaten, creating a special hazard for oral health care.
Guide Your Child
Whether it’s a primary or a permanent tooth, a child’s tooth is important. Baby teeth help children chew, speak, and smile. They also save space for where permanent teeth will go. Permanent teeth are intended to serve your child for a lifetime. Your guidance as your children learn to care for their teeth is vital. Help your kids by teaching them good toothbrushing habits. Remind them to brush and floss at least twice each day. Assist them in choosing healthy foods, and make tooth-friendly snacks available. Finally, be sure to take them to the dentist for checkups regularly.
Are you searching for a pediatric dentist for your child? Turn to Konikoff Dental Associates in Chesapeake, VA. Offering services for people of all ages, our friendly team is eager to watch smiles grow. Reach out to us to arrange your child’s appointment today.
