February is National Children’s Dental Health Month!

Now more than ever, kids are faced with a bewildering array of food choices – from fresh produce to sugar-laden processed convenience meals and snack foods. What children eat and when they eat it may affect not only their general health but also their oral health.

Americans are consuming foods and drinks high in sugar and starches more often and in larger portions than ever before. It’s clear that junk foods and drinks gradually have replaced nutritious beverages and foods for many people. For example, in the U.S., on average, individuals consume approximately 50 gallons of sugary beverages per year! Alarmingly, a steady diet of sugary foods and drinks can ruin teeth, especially among those who snack throughout the day.

Common activities may contribute to the tendency toward tooth decay. These include grazing habitually on foods with minimal nutritional value and frequently sipping on sugary drinks. Consuming too much sugar can also affect your overall health, such as becoming overweight/obese, or getting heart disease or type 2 diabetes.

When sugar is consumed over and over again in large, often hidden amounts, the harmful effect on teeth can be dramatic. Sugar on teeth provides food for bacteria, which produce acid. The acid in turn can eat away the enamel on teeth. If you are eating and drinking sugary foods and drinks often throughout the day this will affect your teeth almost continuously versus eating food in a few settings throughout the day.

The following suggestions can reduce your children’s risk of tooth decay: 

• Sugary foods and drinks should be consumed with meals. Saliva production increases during meals and helps neutralize acid production and rinse food particles from the mouth.

• Limit between-meal snacks. If kids crave a snack, offer them nutritious foods.

• If your kids chew gum, make it sugarless – Chewing sugarless gum after eating can increase saliva flow and help wash out food and decay-producing acid. 

• Monitor beverage consumption – Children should make healthy beverage choices such water and low-fat milk. 

• Help your children develop good brushing and flossing habits. 

• Schedule regular dental visits starting at age one.

Monique Koerner is the Family and Community Wellness Agent with K-State Research and Extension – Cottonwood District. You may reach her at: 785-628-9430 or moniquek@ksu.edu.