Most people think that sweets and lollipops are the main foods to blame for tooth decay, but bacteria not only use the sugar in sweets to create acid but can also use any food that contains sugars and other carbohydrates.
This includes fruits, peanut butter, biscuits, crackers, potato chips, dried fruit, snack bars, muesli bars, and popcorn, to name a few. Especially harmful can be foods like raisins and peanut butter that stick to teeth, where they provide a constant source of energy for bacteria.
It’s not practical to cut out these foods completely, but it’s good to remind them occasionally to think before they snack. If you can plant a useful seed in their minds about tooth-friendly eating, you’ll be giving them the best chance of enjoying healthy teeth for years to come.
So what foods provide a good alternative? Recent research shows that cheese is one of the healthiest snacks for your child’s teeth. In addition to providing large amounts of much-needed calcium, cheese also does its part to fight cavities. Cheddar, Swiss, and mozzarella all stimulate salivary glands to clear the mouth of debris. Saliva provides a strong protective film for the teeth and helps to wash away and neutralise the damaging acids. Other good snacks are nuts and fruit (as long as you wash them down with some water right after you’ve eaten).