Nutrition; your child's dental health

Nutrition; your child's dental health

Healthy gums and strong teeth are a result of genes, good dental hygiene and good nutrition. Good dental hygiene can be achieved by proper brushing and regular visits to the dentist. This keeps our gums and teeth clean and reduce the risk for dental caries (tooth decay).

During the first three years of life, it is important that your child eats a balanced diet that supplies the nutrients needed to build healthy gums and teeth. This is the time when mineralization of tooth enamel primarily occurs and nutrition influences the pre-eruptive development of teeth and oral tissues. Good nutrition promotes the development of healthy teeth and gums whereas poor nutrition could indirectly increase susceptibility for caries.

Once teeth have erupted, they are particularly vulnerable to decay. What and how your child eats and drinks may affect his dental health. You should therefore take measures to keep your child's teeth healthy right from the start.

Eat More of These Gum-strengthening and Tooth-forming Nutrients

A balanced diet is important to keep our teeth and gums healthy, especially one that provides the following:

• Gum-strengthening nutrients:Vitamin C, vitamin B12 and folic acid help to strengthen gums and support the development of soft tissues. Good dietary sources are guava, orange, tomato, papaya, spinach, broccoli, milk and milk products, and meat.
• Tooth-forming nutrients: Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, fluoride , and vitamin D are necessary for the development and maintenance of strong teeth. Milk and milk products are excellent sources of these nutrients.

Eat Less of Cariogenic Foods

Food intake can affect the development of dental caries. Factors that influence the cariogenicity of food include the amount of fermentable carbohydrate in a food, the food's consistency, how often it is consumed, and how long it remains in the mouth. For example, foods high in simple sugars in a retentive form (e.g. dried fruits), are potentially more cariogenic than those that are rapidly cleared from the mouth (e.g. chocolate milk).

Foods high in simple sugars promote dental caries. This is because sugars act as food that promote the growth of bacteria that live on the teeth. This results in the production of acid that dissolves the tooth enamel and underlying structure.

Step to promote good dental health in your child: Avoid giving too much sugary foods to your child.

• Avoid giving your child foods that have a tendency to stick to the teeth, such as candies.
• Have your child to rinse his mouth or brush his teeth after each meal of high sugary foods.
• Once your baby has fallen asleep while feeding, remove the milk bottle from his mouth straight away. This prevents milk from pooling around his teeth during sleep and causing decay. When your baby is asleep, the normal protective flow of saliva stops and this increases the risk for decay.
• Avoid giving your child fruit juices in a milk bottle. Drinking from a bottle lengthens the time that the teeth are exposed to sugars and fruit acids. After your baby reaches six months old, encourage him to drink from a cup.
• Do not give your child pacifiers dipped in sweet substances, such as honey, jam or sugar syrups.
• Avoid giving your child sweet foods throughout the day. Limit intake of such foods and confine them to mealtimes only.
• Make visits to the dentist a regular habit for your child from young. This provides an opportunity for the dentist to detect early signs of decay and offer preventive action, as well as to give advice on oral health.