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The average American consumes 22 grams of sugar per day, which is double the recommended daily amount. All of that sugar does considerable damage to tooth enamel and can lead to cavities and other oral issues. Some of the beverages we consume are surprisingly high in sugar. Below are some of the best – and worst – drinks for your teeth.

Drinks that Help Your Teeth

Water

Water – especially water with fluoride – helps strengthen and clean teeth. With every sip, water cleans your teeth by ridding them of any leftover foods or acids. It also washes away bacteria and sugars that can eventually lead to cavities. Water has zero calories, and helps restore the Ph balance in your mouth to fight unhealthy levels of acid.

Milk

Milk and other dairy products are rich in calcium, which strengthens bones and teeth. Milk also contains a protein called casein – a substance that helps fight tooth decay by strengthening tooth enamel. The calcium and phosphorous in milk also strengthen and repair tooth enamel that has dissolved due to acid.

Low Sugar Vegetable Juice

Vegetables are some of the healthiest foods you could possibly eat, so it makes sense then that vegetable juice would improve your oral health. When buying – or making – vegetable juice, make sure that you limit the percentage of fruit in the juice, since fruits are high in sugar. Typically, dark green vegetable juices are better for your teeth. Juice that has kale, or spinach contain healthy B vitamins that can help fight against gum disease. Leafy greens are also high in calcium, which boosts your enamel health.

If you want your vegetable juice to be a bit sweeter, look for juices containing small amounts of apple or carrots, as they are sweet and healthy in moderation.

Drinks that Hurt Your Teeth

Fruit Juices

Fruit juices are often chosen as an alternative to sugary sodas, but did you know that some juices have as much sugar as the leading colas? Apple juice has as much as 10 tsp. of sugar per serving, which is the exact amount as the leading brand cola. The sugar and citric acids in fruit juice can lead to tooth decay. If you must drink juice, you can lower the sugar by cutting it with water. Alternatively, you can look for low sugar juice options as well.

Sports Drinks

Sports drinks can also contain more sugar than leading cola beverages, with as much as 19 grams of sugar per serving. Additionally, sports drinks contain an unhealthy amount of sodium (salt) which can be as much as a bag of potato chips per bottle. Sports drinks can eat away at tooth enamel, and can contain very unhealthy amounts of calories.

Colas

The gold standard of “terrible for teeth” are soft drinks. Sodas are awful for teeth because they are high in two of the worst things for teeth: sugar and acid. There are some sodas that contain more than the total recommended amount of daily sugar in one 20 oz. bottle! The high sugar and acid content can eat away the enamel that protects your teeth, and can lead to cavities. Consuming too much soda can cause irreparable harm to your body in the form of diabetes and other diseases. Your best bet is to stay away from sodas all together to avoid exposing your teeth to unhealthy levels of sugar and acid.

How to Help Reduce Negative Effects

If your child does drink sugary beverages, then they can help curb some of the negative effects by swishing water around in their mouth once they’re finished. Additionally, they should brush their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time and floss once per day to remove debris between their teeth.

Visit Our Office

If you are worried that your child is drinking too much soda, or if they are beginning to complain of sensitive teeth that may be related to consuming too many sugary drinks, then visit our office. We will evaluate your child’s smile and determine a treatment plan that’s best.

Flossing is an important part of maintaining a healthy mouth for your child, yet a recent study found that only 4 out of 10 Americans floss on a daily basis. Brushing teeth alone only cleans the visible areas and misses out on the spaces between teeth and leaves your child vulnerable to acid buildup and tooth decay. But don’t worry! We want to help you find the right floss for the specific needs of your child.

Does Your Child Have Gaps in Their Teeth?

If so, then dental tape is a great solution to floss the hard-to-reach spaces in their teeth. Dental tape is wide, flat and designed to be gentle on exposed gums. The width of dental tape makes it easier for small hands to grasp it, and makes it more forgiving when children use too much pressure while flossing.

Are Their Teeth Tightly Bunched?

Teeth that have no visible gaps can be hard to floss because of the limited space. If your child has such teeth, then waxed floss might be the best flossing solution. Waxed floss is thinner than dental tape, and the waxy nature is designed to glide easier between tightly bunched teeth. Because waxed floss is on the thin side, it is important that your child applies less force when flossing so that they don’t mistakenly cut their gums.

Do They Have Braces?

Braces and other orthodontic appliances can cause floss to shred, and also make it difficult to reach the nooks and crannies of teeth that require flossing. If your child has braces, then we suggest that they floss with a floss threader – a device designed to help those with braces floss. Floss threaders make it easier to reach the spaces in teeth impeded by braces and orthodontic appliances. Spongy floss is another great option for those that have oral appliances.

Varied Spacing Between Teeth?

If your child has different sized spaces between their teeth, then ultra floss is the choice for you! Ultra floss can stretch thin to clean between tightly bunched teeth, but is also wide enough to comfortably clean wider spaces. Ultra floss is a waxed dental floss that slides easily between teeth of all shapes and sizes and is marked by its ability to stretch into a thinner size.

Most Importantly, Floss Daily

Regardless of the floss you choose for your child, the most important thing is that they floss daily. You can help them at first to ensure that they are flossing properly and thoroughly cleaning between their teeth.

Does your child have bleeding gums from flossing? If so, they could be developing gingivitis. Bring them into our office for a comprehensive oral exam. During their visit, we will thoroughly evaluate the state of their oral health and provide a range of treatment solutions based upon our conclusions. Visit our office today to help your child earn a great, healthy smile that they will proudly enjoy for the rest of their life!

Packing the perfect picnic is a fantastic way to get outside and spend some time with your family. But having an outdoor meal can also be a chance to eat foods that will improve your teeth! Below are some picnic “must haves” that taste great, and help keep your mouth healthy!

French Onion Dip

French onion dip is a delicious condiment to add to just about anything, but did you know that you can make it in a really healthy way? A lot of French onion dip recipes call for sour cream as the primary ingredient, but you can substitute nonfat greek yogurt for sour cream and gain more mouth healthy benefits. Nonfat greek yogurt is high in calcium which strengthens teeth, and also contains high amounts of healthy bacteria that can help prevent tooth decay. It has less calories, more protein, and offers a lighter, zestier flavor. So skip the sour cream and add more nonfat greek yogurt.Celery, Carrots and Raw Bell Pepper

Raw vegetables like carrots, celery and bell pepper are excellent dipping alternatives to unhealthy chips and crackers. Starchy carbs like potato chips and crackers can stick to your teeth and cause unhealthy acid buildup which can lead to cavities. Fibrous vegetables like celery can actually clean your teeth as you eat! So choose vegetables instead of chips, they are better for your overall health, and won’t stick to your teeth like starchy carbs typically used as dippers.

Cheese Plate

Cheese is a dental super food. It is high in calcium, which strengthens teeth, and also contains casein, a protein that helps protect the surface of your teeth. Cheese also stimulates saliva production, which helps rid teeth of bad bacteria that can lead to cavities. Try packing a few different cheeses for your picnic to get a good variety. We suggest a sharp cheddar, gruyere, swiss cheese and bleu. You’ll get a variety of flavors to choose from, and added dental benefits!

Chicken Salad

Chicken salad is a great dish that is full of lean protein, and pretty versatile. Chicken is high in phosphorous, which is a key mineral in protecting teeth and promoting enamel growth. Chicken salad is also a highly customizable dish! To make it the most mouth healthy, we suggest substituting mayonnaise with nonfat Greek yogurt as the binder, and incorporating celery, almonds and raw bell peppers, to really boost the mouth-healthy benefits.

Apples

Apples are high in water and fiber, which stimulates gums and saliva production. In fact, the fibrous nature of apples helps scrub teeth as they are eaten. We suggest using fresh apple slices as a healthy dessert at the end of your picnic to satisfy your sweet tooth, and help scrub any leftover debris from between your teeth.

Bring Water

Water is one of the best tools we have in keeping our mouths clean, especially fluoridated water, which helps make teeth more resistant to acidic foods. When preparing a picnic, grab a water bottle instead of juice or soda. Also, you can swish water around after you’re done eating to help keep your mouth clean. Swishing water helps remove debris caught in your teeth that can lead to enamel loss and acid buildup.

Visit Us!

If you’re concerned about your child’s diet, and think that it may be affecting their teeth, then visit our office. We will work with you and discuss mouth-healthy foods that promote beautiful, healthy smiles. We will also work with you to find the treatment plan that best suits your child’s needs for better oral health.

Did you know that childhood cavities are the most common chronic childhood disease, and are almost entirely preventable? A great place to prevent cavities is in your child’s baby bottle. Follow these steps to help keep your infant cavity-free.

Don’t: Put Sugary Drinks in Your Child’s Baby Bottle

Putting sugary beverages such as fruit juice or sports drinks in your infant’s bottle is not recommended. High amounts of sugar can lead to tooth decay and cause more dental problems as their teeth begin to appear. Cavities in baby teeth can also cause complications in new adult teeth.

Do: Wipe out Their Mouth after Meals

With a damp, clean cloth, wipe out your child’s mouth 15 minutes after each meal – liquid or solid. Doing so keeps their mouth free of sugar and debris that can lead to cavities.

Don’t: Send Them to Bed with a Bottle

While a bedtime bottle may comfort your infant, it can be very destructive for their gums and developing teeth. When left in your children’s mouth, sugar from breast milk, formula and milk can lead to infection and pain. Try to establish a bedtime routine that doesn’t involve a baby bottle.

Do: Let Them to Have a Drink before Bed

A good way to get your child off of the bedtime bottle is by giving them a long drink before bedtime. Try to get into a routine that allows them to sip from their bottle while they’re in bed, but under your supervision. Take the bottle with you before turning the lights out and letting them sleep. This sort of routine will get them accustomed to having a drink right before bed, and prevent them from craving a bedtime bottle.

Don’t: Heat Their Bottle in the Microwave

Microwaves are convenient and quick, but they shouldn’t be used to heat a bottle full of formula. Not only does a microwave heat formula unevenly, it can get formula too hot to drink. Additionally, the extreme heat from microwaves can damage and wear plastic baby bottles.

Do: Heat Their Bottle in a Pot of Warm Water

The best way to warm bottled formula is in a pot full of water upon the stove. To do this, fill a pot that is tall enough to completely cover their bottle. Warm the pot on a low-medium setting for 4 – 5 minutes. Then, place the bottle in the water and let it heat up for 1 – 2 minutes. Before serving your infant, check the temperature of the formula by putting a dab on the inside of your forearm to make sure that it isn’t too hot.

Don’t: Let Them Walk around with Their Baby Bottle

As your child begins walking, they’ll also begin falling, which is why you shouldn’t let newly mobile children walk with their bottle. Did you know that every 4 hours a child in America visits the hospital because a facial injury as a result of falling while holding a bottle? You can avoid this by not giving them a walking around bottle, and having them sit down before they drink.

Do: Teach them to Drink from Lidless Cups

You should begin weaning your child off of their bottle around the time that they begin walking – typically ages 12 – 18 months. A good way to do this is by transitioning to a sipping cup, or by letting them drink from lidless cups at meal time. There will be some spilling at first, so try to only give your child water, or a sugarless beverage that’s easy to clean. Introducing them to adult cups at an early age will help them rely less upon the bottle, and diminish the likelihood of them sustaining an injury as a result of walking with a baby bottle.

Check up on Cavities Every Six Months

The best way to prevent childhood tooth decay is by establishing a dental home for your child before their first birthday. Familiarizing them with a pediatric dentist early on will help your child get more comfortable visiting the dentist and keeping their mouths clean. After finding a dental home, visit the pediatric dentist every six months to make sure that their mouths are staying clean!