Fizzy drinks contain phosphoric acid, carbonic acid and usually sugar, all of which rot teeth.
Puddings and drinks are usually the last thing that children have as part of their meals and that makes them more harmful.
What can we do? Make sure that children
- clean their teeth after every meal.
- If children have a sugary pudding make sure that they always eat a piece of cheese or drink a glass of milk (not milk shake and without a straw) afterwards. This will help to neutralise the acid.
- Because so many processed foods contain “hidden” sugar it is best to make sure that children clean their teeth after every meal. That means cleaning at nursery and at school. Some people say that teeth can be worn down by cleaning too often and this can be true – for adults. For children it is more important to get them into the habit of cleaning their teeth after every meal.
- Chose fruit instead of sweets and biscuits for mid morning or mid afternoon snacks. It is the continual snacking on sugar and sweets which is most harmful to their teeth.
- Keep sweets out of party bags. Children tend to snack on them all the way home. Not only is that harmful to their teeth but it spoils their appetite before a more nutritious evening meal. Badges, stickers and inexpensive puzzles and games are more fun.
- Children tend to copy one another, especially the younger ones copying the older ones, and that includes healthy eating and tooth brushing. Once the good habits are in place they can be self perpetuating.
(published with permission in writing from:http://www.stop-the-rot.co.uk)
