3 Snacking Tips to Help You Give Your Child Healthy Teeth and a Beautiful Smile


Most children love sugary snacks and sweets a lot. But the mothers should know that high intake of sugar isn’t good for the overall health of your child’s teeth. Eating sugary food in early years can cause teeth decay in your child’s mouth, damaging their dental health and beautiful smile.

As a guardian or parent, it is your responsibility to choose your child’s snacks wisely such that their dental health remains in good condition. Ensuring a good diet for them will help them get healthy teeth. Let’s check out some useful tips on snacking habits of your child that give them healthy teeth and gums.

Say no to sticky fruit snacks, add the real fruits instead

If you think that those sticky, candy-like fruit snacks are a healthy choice, it’s your misconception. Those sticky snacks have a higher amount of sugar into them and they often stick to the teeth of your child and sit for longer hours, if not cleaned by brushing immediately. This can cause teeth decay. This is why dentists recommend parents to give their kids real fruits in their snack time.

The sugar in the food feed the bacteria in our mouth and cause cavities. Along with fresh fruits, you can give your kids nuts, vegetables, yogurt and cheese during their snack time. But, avoid giving sugary and starchy snacks such as chips and cookies to your kids.

Bring them the right beverages

Fruit juices and sodas available off-the-shelf in the market are high in sugar and calories, which make them harmful to your child’s dental health. Sugary drinks can cause tooth erosion in teens. This is why parents should choose milk and water based beverages.

Milk has a good amount of calcium in it which helps to keep their teeth and bones strong. And drinking water first will clear away residue food particles that may have stuck in your teeth and thus save them from tooth decay.

Give them indulgence in the right limit at mealtime only

It’s almost impossible to prevent children eating sugary snacks and drinks. So, you can instead limit the amount of sweets, juices and starchy food items such that it doesn’t cause potential harm to their dental health. According to FDA, children above 3 years of age should not consume more than 12.5 tsp of sugar in one day.

The next time you go to a supermarket to buy those fruits and sugary snacks for your kids, read the ingredients and its weight carefully. Don’t feed your child more than 50 grams sugar in one day, keeping in mind that 1 tsp. of sugar has 4 grams of it. Besides limiting the amount of sugar, make sure you serve them those snacks and drinks at meal time instead of snack time. We have a higher amount of saliva produced in the mouth during mealtime which can effectively wash away sugar treats of your mouth.

The above tips aren’t only useful for your teens but it can also help you maintain your dental health. Choosing foods with good nutrition value and least sugar for your child’s snack time will ensure them healthy teeth and beautiful smile forever.


Source by Ravi Patel