Parenting: top tips for healthy teeth
In order to ensure that you reduce your youngster's risk of dental damage, decay and delayed speech development - a common concern connected to tooth extraction - here are our top ten tips for keeping your tot's teeth healthy...
1. Little'uns should have a limited intake of dried fruit (its sticky consistency sticks to teeth and contains a concentrated source of sugar), fruit juice/squash and smoothies (no more than 150ml a day for these three fluids singular and combined) as well as sugar sweetened drinks and sweet treats. If tots' do tuck into these favourble foods and fluids, always ensure that it's at mealtimes only in order to provide more protection against dental damage and decay.
2. Water and milk are the only sensible sources for tots' to sip - milk based beverages such as flavoured milk and milkshakes contain added sugar as well as lactose (the latter is a naturally occurring sugar that doesn't damage teeth but the former does) and should therefore be seen as sugar sweetened drinks.
3. Micronutrients such as calcium (a mandatory mineral that's essential for healthy teeth and bones and can be found in food sources such as milk and dairy products) and vitamin D (a vital vitamin that aids the absorption of calcium and can be found in food sources such as eggs, oily fish and fortified foods and obtained from sunlight!) both play a predominant part in healthy teeth and should be incorporated into infants' daily diet.
*Daily vitamin D supplementation is recommended for breastfed babies, formula-fed babies consuming less than 500ml of formula a day and tot's aged 1-4).
4. Brushing with a fluoride toothpaste should start as soon as a tot's first tooth breaks through (this is often around six months of age) and take place twice a day, one being before bed, for at least two minutes each time.
5. Certain feeding methods (and actions) in infancy should be avoided due to their distinct contribution to dental decay - this includes prolonged bottle feeding (this leaves liquid pooling in the mouth), sucking purees straight from the pouch and dipping dummies into sweet substances.
6. Tot's teeth are less protected from damage and decay at night due to a decrease in saliva - a reason why food should be avoided at night, and an hour before bed.
7. The amount, frequency and duration of sugar consumption all have an influential impact on the development of dental decay - the longer, and more often that sugar comes into contact with teeth, the more damage it can cause.
8. Tots' should be taught to spit, not rinse (with water), after brushing their teeth - the latter will wash off fluoride leaving teeth less protected against damage and decay.
9. A trip to the dentist should be taken as soon as the first tooth appears - this is a fantastic way to familiarise tots' with the environment whilst ensuring that adequate oral hygiene is established from an early age.
10. Many medicines for minors' contain a substantial amount of sugar to promote palatability - always opt for sugar-free alternatives when possible.
Final thought: although the bacteria produced by plaque converts the sugar in carbohydrates to enamel damaging acids, the intrinsic sugars found in whole fruit are less likely to cause dental damage and decay - this makes it a sensible (and safe!) snack for tots' to tuck into between main meals.
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