Healthy Snacks

3 Handy Snacks for Healthy Teeth on the Go

January 24th, 2019

Life is busy, and sometimes families need to snack while away from home. But, you don’t have to sacrifice your oral health just because you’re snacking on the go. Here’s our favorite handy snacks for those eating away from home.

Nuts

Nuts are another handy snack that promote a healthy mouth. Nuts are rich in protein, which helps to build stronger teeth. Chewing nuts promotes saliva production that naturally protects and cleans your teeth by clearing the mouth of debris and acid buildup that can lead to cavities. Nuts are a great healthy alternative to potato chips, or other salty snacks that your kids may crave.

Apples

Apples are high-fiber fruits, which naturally clean teeth as they’re being eaten! Apples scrub your teeth, gums and tongue as they’re being eaten because of their fibrous texture – particularly the skin. This helps fight plaque buildup, and helps remove surface stains from teeth. Apples also fight bad breath by removing traces of bad plaque and residue from the back of the tongue. We suggest adding apple slices into your child’s diet as a dessert substitute. Keep the skin on the apple slices, so that your child gets all of the oral health benefits.

Cheese

Cheese is high in calcium, which promotes strong teeth. But the benefits of cheese don’t end there. It also contains a protein called casein, which strengthens tooth enamel and helps to prevent cavities. Try adding a couple of slices of cheese to your child’s lunch every day to give them more calcium and casein. Or, you can buy them string cheese since it is a fun snack that kids love to eat!

Don’t Forget to Pack Water

Water is one of the best tools for keeping mouths clean, especially fluoridated water, which helps make teeth more resistant to acidic foods. When preparing a snack for your child on the go, grab a water bottle instead of a juice box or sugary soda. Also, encourage your kids to swish water around in their mouth after they’re done snacking. Swishing water can help remove debris caught in their teeth that can lead to enamel loss, and acid buildup.

A Healthy Diet Helps Teeth

A mouth-healthy diet is an important part of maintaining optimal oral health. If you’re concerned about how your child’s diet may be affecting their teeth, then bring them into our office. We can discuss healthy, delicious dietary options that kids love, and strengthen teeth.

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Try These Mouth-Healthy Halloween Treats Instead of Candy

October 11th, 2018

Halloween is full of candy and treats for children and families to share and enjoy. But, most of the treats being shared on Halloween are packed with sugar, and are terrible for teeth. Here’s some mouth-healthy alternatives for parents to consider passing out this Halloween.

Pumpkin Seeds

Halloween treats don’t have to be sweet all of the time. Pumpkin seeds are an excellent healthy snack to enjoy during Halloween, and they are great for teeth! They contain a high amount of fiber, which helps scrub teeth clean of leftover food particles. You can buy pumpkin seeds in a variety of flavors, and most come in small snack packs that are perfect for handing out.

Clementines

Clementines look like miniature Oranges, and are a sweet citrus snack that can improve oral health. Thats because Clementines are full of vitamin C, which is a strong antioxidant that helps heal gums, and fight gum inflammation. It does this by helping the body produce more collagen, which aids in cell repair and expedites the healing process. Clementines are the perfect size for little hands, and give you an easy way to share a healthier snack this Halloween.

Squeezable Yogurt Tubes

Yogurt is a dental super food, and can be sweet and quite kid-friendly! Yogurt is packed with calcium, which helps build strong teeth and bones, and can improve the strength of tooth enamel. Squeezable yogurt tubes offer kids a great way to enjoy a mouth-healthy treat that comes in all sorts of flavors.

Dark Chocolate

Rejoice, chocolate fans! There is a type of chocolate that is mouth-healthy, and easy to share this Halloween. Dark chocolate contains polyphenols, which are natural chemicals that limit the buildup of bad oral bacteria. Polyphenols also help prevent bacteria from turning sugar into acid, thereby limiting acid attacks and keeping enamel healthy. Try to find dark chocolate that is at least 70% cocoa to get the most oral health benefits.

Bonus! Non-Edible Halloween Treats

You don’t have to pass out sweets or candy this Halloween at all. You can share non-edible treats like plush toys, stickers, glow sticks, bubbles, or temporary tattoos, among other things. Children enjoy small toys, so consider adding some to your Halloween bowl to share this year.

Urge Oral Health Routines this Halloween

As your family enjoys Halloween treats this year, be sure to urge a proper oral health routine. Have your children brush their teeth twice per day for two minutes at a time, and floss once per day. Be safe and enjoy your Halloween from everyone here in our office!

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Cool Down with these Mouth-Healthy Summer Treats

July 6th, 2017

As the summer unfolds, your family will surely encounter long and hot days that seem to last forever. One way to fight the heat, and refresh your family is with some cold summer treats. Below are some of our favorite summer treats that will help cool you down and improve your oral health.

Yogurt and Fruit Popsicles

Yogurt is high in calcium and casein, but it also contains a high amount of healthy bacteria. Healthy bacteria in yogurt helps fight the bad bacteria that can stick to your teeth, and lead to cavities. The best news is that yogurt and fruit popsicles are a fun way to get a healthy serving of calcium and super easy to make. We suggest choosing a fruit that is high in vitamin C, which helps boost gum health. You can use strawberries, blueberries, papayas, currants or kiwis.

Ingredients:
1 cup frozen fruit

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

3 tablespoon honey

Directions:
1 - In a blender, combine frozen fruit and 2 tablespoons of honey and purée.

2 - In a separate bowl, combine yogurt with one tablespoon honey and mix.

3 – Place alternate layers of yogurt and fruit puree in small paper cups, or ice cube tray. Place a popsicle stick in the center of the cup, and put them in the freezer until they are solid.

Frozen Blueberry and Yogurt Smoothies

This recipe is similar to the above, but is blended into a smoothie and perfect for cooling down this summer. These blueberry smoothies are packed with protein and calcium, and are fantastic for teeth. Additionally, blueberries are a great source of manganese, which plays a very important role in the growth and strength of bones and teeth.

Ingredients:
1 ripe banana

1 cup frozen blueberries

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

Directions:
1 - In a blender, combine banana, blueberries, and yogurt.

2 - Blend on high speed until smooth. Pour into glasses and serve.

Carrots

As carrots are eaten, they stimulate saliva production that helps prevent the buildup of bad bacteria that can lead to cavities. Carrots are a great handheld snack that can be taken anywhere. Plus, we think that carrots are best when eaten cold! We suggest packing a small baggie of baby carrots in the refrigerator and serving it to your child as a quick bite to cool them down. You can make this snack even tastier (and more kid-friendly) by packing it with a bit of yogurt-based dip!

Water

Water – especially water with fluoride – helps strengthen and clean teeth. With every sip, water cleans 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. When your child is playing outside, or participating in team sports, water is the perfect mouth-healthy refresher.

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A proper diet is key for a healthy mouth, so it’s important that you pay attention to your child’s nutrition. To help fight cavities, limit the amount of sugar they consume, and feed them more mouth-friendly options. Also, be sure that they brush their teeth twice per day and floss once per day, to remove any food debris that can cause tooth decay.

Schedule an appointment with our office if you would like to know more about a mouth-healthy diet, and other ways that you can help fight cavities this summer.

Tags: oral health, Healthy Snacks, Treats

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Top Five Healthy Snacks for the ‘On-The-Go’ Family

May 12th, 2016

Healthy snacks for kids

Caring for your child is a round’ the clock type of job that requires a lot of legwork and travel. Whether it’s ballet or baseball, it seems as if there’s always somewhere to be, and something to do. Often times, what’s lost in all of the after-school commotion is the quality of your child’s snack time. To encourage healthy snacking, we've made a list of the top five portable snacks that promote oral health!

healthy-cheese-for-oral-health

1. Cheese and Dairy

Cheese and other dairy products such as milk and low-fat yogurts are low in sugar and high in calcium and protein, which are primary minerals that build stronger teeth and bones. Cheese can be cut into small cubes and easily packed in a backpack or purse for a quick snack on the go.

Healthy-nuts-for-kids

2. Nuts

Nuts are another car friendly snack that promote a healthy mouth. Nuts are rich in protein, which helps to build stronger teeth. Chewing nuts promotes saliva production that naturally protects and cleans your teeth by clearing the mouth of debris and acid buildup that can lead to cavities. Nuts are a great healthy alternative to potato chips, or other salty snacks that your kids may crave

healthy-fruit-for-kids-teeth

3. Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables are rich in vitamins and nutrients vital to your child’s overall health. They also promote saliva production, which can help prevent cavities. Healthy snacks such as celery, apples, kiwi, and cucumber slices are great substitutes for pre-bagged snacks that are high in added sugar and lack nutritional value. Try to limit the amount of acidic citrus fruits your child may eat, as acid eats away the enamel that protects your child’s teeth.

healthy-lean-proteins

4. Lean proteins

Lean proteins like fish, chicken, and eggs have high amounts of phosphorous, another mineral key to the protection of teeth by promoting enamel growth. Snacks like chicken salad with nuts and celery, or a tuna sandwich will give your child a healthy boost before any after-school event.

healthy-water-for-kids-oral-heatlh

5. 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 snack for your child on the go, grab a water bottle instead of a juice box or sugary soda. Also, encourage your kids to swish water around in their mouth after they’re done snacking. Swishing water can help remove debris caught in their teeth that can lead to enamel loss, and acid buildup.

Sometimes, a parent’s busy schedule requires their families to spend a long time on the road. Eating on the road can be a tough terrain to conquer while maintaining your child’s health. Our team hopes that the snacks listed above will help you plan healthy snacking for your family.

If you have any questions about snacking for oral health, please give us a call!

Tags: cavity prevention, healthy eating, Healthy Snacks

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