5 Nutrition Tips to Keep Kid’s Teeth Healthy
In addition to scheduling regular trips to the dentist and making sure teeth are being brushed and flossed, there’s another crucial way parents can take care of their children’s oral health, and that is by monitoring their children’s nutrition.
Here are 5 nutrition tips to help keep kids’ teeth healthy.
- Serving your child a healthy diet of fruits and vegetables is good for his or her entire body, teeth included. Raw veggies require a lot of chewing, which stimulates saliva production to wash away bacteria. Fruits are also a good choice; most contain a lot of water, and some, such as apples, also naturally scrub your child’s teeth.
- Be sure your child is getting plenty of calcium to build his or her teeth. Snacks such as cheese and low-sugar yogurt are good options.
- Don’t let your child snack all throughout the day. Doing so means his or her teeth are constantly in contact with food, which puts them in danger of decay. Try to space out your child’s snacks, and make an effort to brush after each one.
- Avoid giving your child foods that will stick to his or her teeth. Sticky foods linger on the teeth and are likely to get lodged somewhere difficult to reach. If your child eats sticky, gummy foods, be sure he or she brushes soon after to prevent decay.
- Limit your child’s soda intake. Not only is soda void of nutritional value, but it can also cause significant damage to your child’s teeth. Soda contains sugars and acids that will eat away at tooth structure. The best choice is to give your child water, which contains no sugar and can help wash away decay-causing food particles.
By making a few conscious choices for your child’s diet, you can make big strides in keeping his or her teeth as healthy as possible. Maintaining good oral health is a daily challenge, but it becomes easier when you feed your child a teeth-friendly diet.