EVERY CHILD LOVES sugary treats! But most parents understand how bad they can be for a developing smile. Unfortunately, some sweet things are more deceiving than others. As your trusted dental team, we’re here to make sure your kids can get the nutrients they need to have strong, healthy, and beautiful teeth!
Fruit Juice Contains A Lot Of Sugar
It’s not always easy getting little ones to eat their fruits and veggies. Many parents turn to juice as an alternative to help them get some of the nutrients they need. While there are nutritional benefits to fruit juice, it can also be really hard on teeth.
Fruit juice, even if it’s all-natural, contains a lot of sugar. What’s worse is that many fruit juices, especially those marketed for children, have added sugar in them. Even though fruit juice is often touted as a healthy alternative to soda, the majority of them contain just as much sugar as soda, sometimes even more! And as you well know, sugar is the number one culprit behind tooth decay.
Unfortunately, sugar isn’t the only problem–fruit juice is also very acidic. The combination of sugar and acid can pack a mean punch: while acid weakens tooth enamel, sugar feeds cavity-causing bacteria and contributes to decay. Needless to say, this can be extremely bad for young, developing teeth!
Follow These Steps To Protect Your Child’s Teeth
The American Association of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that children one to six years old should have no more than four to six ounces of fruit juice per day. When you give your child fruit juice, follow these five tips to help protect their teeth from decay:
- Don’t let them sip throughout the day. Have your child drink fruit juice all at once instead of throughout the day. Tooth decay is more about how long sugar comes in contact with the teeth and less about how much. This means that parents should avoid putting juice in sippy cups.
- Dilute it with water. This is an easy step to protect your child’s teeth from damage. Drink at mealtime. More saliva is produced when eating a meal, helping wash away sugar left by juice and remineralize tooth enamel. Chewing food also helps to physically remove sugar adhering to teeth.
- Use a straw. Using a straw will reduce the amount of sugar and acid that comes in direct contact with teeth. Rinse with water. Offer your child water after drinking juice to wash away any remaining sugar. In general, it’s better to eat fruit than to drink it. Fiber in whole fruit slows the absorption of sugar in the bloodstream, so it’s not only better for your child’s teeth, it’s also better for their body.
- Bring your child in every six months for their cleaning. Do dental decay prevention steps such as FLUORIDE varnish treatments, and DENTAL SEALANTS. These are really easy and painless. They take only minutes and can make the difference in a mouth full of cavities and a healthy mouth. Here at McOmie Family Dentistry we will recommend these and other steps when your child is ready for them. Put the burden of knowing when to place sealants and do fluoride treatments on Dr. Mark McOmie. We will ensure it is done at the right time. The one thing parents need to do is bring their child IN, we can’t do preventative dentistry without the child in our office. Both fluoride and sealants are usually covered by the insurance at 100%, the insurance knows in the long run these procedures will save them money in not having to pay for fillings later.
Here in the south sweet tea is a very popular drink. In Chattanooga, most people drink this drink on regular basis. Do not put it in a sippy cup and let the child drink from it all day long. It has processed sugar that causes decay more than fruit juice does. Many people forget that sweet tea is loaded with sugar.
Check out this video to learn more about baby bottle tooth decay and the negative effects of sugary drinks on your child’s smile:
Your Child’s Smile Deserves The Best
Fruit juice and soda may be what your child requests, but milk and water are much better choices. They’ll thank you later in life for healthy, cavity-free teeth! After all, your child’s smile deserves the best… not necessarily their taste buds!
Thank you for trusting us with your entire family’s dental health! Give us a call! McOmie Family Dentistry 423-899-1112.
