5 Tips For Protecting Your Toddler’s Teeth Against Sugary Foods

Rewarding your toddler with cookies, pastries, and other sweets are good ways to balance out the not so popular foods like vegetables. However, sugar foods can wreak havoc on teeth that are not properly taken care of. It is a good idea to address this problem with your toddler at a young age to avoid encountering this problem in adulthood. Luckily, there are a few tips you can use to ensure that your toddler's teeth are protected against sugary foods.

Dilute Sugary Drinks and Juices

If you decide to give your toddler fruit juice instead of water, it is important to dilute the juice before hand. The concentration of the juice straight from the bottle is often too acidic for your child's teeth. As a result, these juices can quickly cause tooth decay.

Give Your Toddler A Straw

If your toddler drinks any sugary drinks they should drink it using a straw. This is the same way people drink substances that are known to stain teeth. The straw will help to direct the fluid to the back of the mouth, thereby avoiding contact with your teeth.

Avoid Eating Sweets Between Meals

Give your toddler a sweet snack or drink at the end of their meal rather than in between meals. Also, this snack should be consumed at once and not slowly throughout the day. This helps to limit the number of times your teeth are coated in sugar.

Neutralize the Sugars In Their Mouth

Your mouth uses your saliva as a way to neutralize any additional sugars or acids in your mouth. This helps to prevent tooth decay. You can further neutralize the sugars in your child's mouth by giving them aged cheese to eat after they have eaten a sugary food. This food will increase the flow of saliva in their mouth and will neutralize the acids faster.

Brush Their Teeth Morning and Night

The real key to a healthy mouth and caring for your toddler's teeth is to make sure that they brush their teeth in the morning and at night before they go to bed. Brushing should occur for 2-3 minutes to successfully clean teeth and remove any bacteria or extra food.

As a child exploring new foods and treats is always fun. Therefore, there is no need to eliminate sugary foods from their diet. You just have to make sure that you treat their teeth with care. Refer to this guide or contact a family dentist anytime that you want to know how to handle your toddler's teeth after consuming sugary foods.


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