Candy, Sweet Childhood and Dental Health
For every child, a look back at their sweet childhood almost always involves days of playing outside, eating sweets, and living a carefree life. Unfortunately for both children and parents, dental health can be a major problem when your child has a sweet tooth. Choosing the right types of sweets for your children to consume and monitoring their intake and dental care can be beneficial in helping your children maintain a sweet candy-filled childhood and exceptional dental health!
Although it can be difficult to control what types of sweets your children eat when you’re out and about, it’s easy to do when you’re at home. Never allow sugary treats except on special occasions! When your kids get that sweet tooth or you’re in the mood to reward good behavior with a treat, stick with a sugar-free brand. This is not only good for your children’s teeth, but also effective in maintaining a balance in their blood sugar levels. Many manufacturers have sugar-free versions of many popular candies that are just as tasty and satisfying as the real thing!
When you allow your children to chew sweets, to maintain excellent dental health, you must enforce a moderate control of consumption. One or two pieces will satisfy the need for sweets. Overeating sweets will only make your kids lethargic and overeat sugar only to crash soon after. After Halloween, let your kids pick out a candy or two each day. This will keep consumption low and allow the Halloween fun to last for months! After children finish eating sweets, always remind them to brush their teeth to get rid of sugar on their teeth. Also, always enforce tooth brushing in the morning and at night. Children should never go to bed without brushing their teeth, as sugar left in the mouth at night will eat away at the teeth and cause painful and costly cavities.
Remind your kids that sweets aren’t the only culprits in cavities and poor tooth health! Drinking lots of sugary sodas and even lots of sugar-rich fruits can do a number on your kids’ sensitive teeth! Choose diet sodas for your kids—they taste the same and have the same benefits as sugar-free candy! Of course, enforcing good dental hygiene every day will ensure that your children keep their smiles bright throughout childhood.