Dental Health Essentials
Keeping your child’s smile healthy goes beyond regular dental check-ups. It’s about understanding how their teeth grow, what causes cavities, and the key role diet and daily habits play in oral health. By knowing how to support healthy teeth through good hygiene practices like brushing and flossing, you can help prevent cavities and ensure your child’s oral health stays strong as they grow.
Diet
What your child eats plays a big role in cavity prevention. Every time they snack or sip on something sugary or starchy, bacteria in their mouth produce acids that weaken tooth enamel. While saliva helps fight these acids, frequent snacking can lead to cavities over time.
​
To keep your child's smile healthy, it’s important to pay attention not only to what they eat but also to how often they eat.
Tooth-Friendly Tips:
-
​Limit snacking between meals to reduce acid attacks.
-
Save sugary treats for special occasions.
-
Watch fruit juice and follow recommended daily limits.
-
No sugary snacks after bedtime brushing, as saliva flow decreases during sleep.
​
Tooth-Friendly Treats
These are foods that help keep your smile sparkling and strong:
-
Dairy (Cheese, Milk, low sugar Yogurt)
-
Veggies (Carrots, Celery, Cucumbers)
-
Fruit (Apples, Pears)
-
Water (Water, especially fluoridated water)
-
Nuts (Nuts and Seeds)
​
Sugar Monsters
Watch out for these sneaky snacks that can harm your teeth:
-
Sticky Sugars (Gummies, Dried Fruits, Caramel)
-
Sugary Drinks (Soda, Fruit Juice, Sports Drinks)
-
Crunchy Carbs (Chips, Pretzels, Sugary Cereals, White Bread)
-
Sweet Tooth Traps (Candy, Cookies, Cakes)
-
Frozen Sugar Swirls (Ice Cream, Sugary Dairy Treats)
-
Smart food choices can keep your child’s smile cavity-free!
​
Here's More Info...
The good news is that tooth decay can be stopped or even reversed at this stage! Enamel can rebuild itself with help from the minerals in saliva and fluoride from toothpaste or treatments.
​
However, if the decay isn’t caught in time, more minerals will be lost, and the enamel will continue to weaken. Eventually, a hole, or cavity, will form in the tooth. Once a cavity forms, it’s permanent damage and will need to be fixed by a dentist with a filling.
​
How does a dental cavity develop?
Cavities start when a tooth is exposed to acid over and over again—especially from sugary or starchy foods and drinks. These acid attacks gradually weaken the tooth's protective enamel by stripping away important minerals. At first, you might notice a white spot on the tooth, which means minerals have been lost. This is an early sign of tooth decay.
What’s going on in Your Child's Mouth?
You probably know that cavities are little holes in teeth, but did you know they’re caused by a process called tooth decay? The good news is that this process can be interrupted and even reversed, helping prevent cavities!
Here's More Info...
Our mouths are home to many types of bacteria. While some bacteria are harmless (and even helpful), others can lead to tooth decay. These harmful bacteria thrive on the sugars found in foods and drinks. When they consume sugar, they create acids that gradually weaken the tooth’s outer layer (called enamel), which can lead to cavities over time.
​
Think of your child’s mouth as a battleground. On one side, you have dental plaque—a sticky film of bacteria—along with sugary or starchy foods and drinks like cookies, candy, soda, and juice. When your child eats these foods, the bacteria produce acids that start breaking down their enamel.
​
But there’s good news! On the other side, there are minerals like calcium and phosphate in their saliva, along with fluoride from toothpaste and water. These help their teeth repair and regain the minerals lost during what we call an “acid attack.”
​
This process of losing and regaining minerals happens all day long, so making sure your child practices good oral hygiene and eats tooth-friendly foods can help keep their teeth strong and healthy.
​
Brushing and Flossing
Brushing your child’s teeth is one of the simplest and most effective ways to prevent cavities. But with so many toothbrush options, which is best for your child?
Here's More Info...
Both manual and powered toothbrushes can help keep your child’s smile healthy. If choosing a manual brush, look for one with soft, rounded bristles that are gentle on your child’s gums and a handle sized perfectly for little hands. For toddlers and preschoolers, you'll need to brush for them. As your child grows, continue to supervise their brushing and flossing until around age 7 or 8, when they develop better coordination.
​
With the right tools and support, your child can develop great habits for a lifetime of healthy smiles!
​
