It can be difficult to provide your children with a healthy snack especially when you live a busy lifestyle. When dropping kids off at sporting events, dance classes, school, gymnastics or whatever activity they’ve joined, it’s convenient to grab a bag of chips or a snack from a vending machine. However, you need to be very careful with what you’re giving your kids or they may end up with plenty of cavities.

Avoid Starchy Snacks

Snacks such as chips and cookies can severely damage children’s teeth. Chips typically get stuck between teeth and the sugar attacks the enamel. It’s imperative that children regularly brush and floss to remove the sticky starches from getting caught in the teeth. When your child does consume starchy snacks, they need to swish their mouths with cold water for 30 minutes to remove debris.

Fruit Juice

While juice might be a solid alternative to sodas, some of the fruit in these beverages contains sugar. In some cases, fruit juices have more sugar than soda! During the process of making the fruit juice, the fruit has been extracted from the fruit and unfortunately, it loses its nutritional value. Once the fiber has been removed, the drink is basically sugar and water.

Canned Fruit

Canned fruit is simply delicious and it’s a quick snack to pack for school, however, the syrup in these canned fruits contains an immense amount of sugar. Sugar is of course one of the main sources of cavities so if you are shopping for canned fruit, look for one with no added sugar.

Foods that won’t have a negative effect on your child’s teeth include milk, cheese and yogurt especially since they’re such a great source of calcium. Milk and dairy will significantly reduce tooth decay by strengthening your child’s tooth enamel.

Ready to schedule a cleaning for your son or daughter? Give us a call at 603.944.9196!