Good nutrition is essential for oral and dental health in children. Good eating habits and food preferences are established early in childhood. Poor nutrition can eventually lead to poor health, obesity, tooth decay, and periodontal disease.

Dietary Factors That Cause Tooth Decay

• Most children crave sugary and other junk food that they see in TV commercials. For this reason parents should try to control what their children eat as much as possible.
• Dietary habits often contribute to the development of dental caries in children. Food which remains on the teeth provides a substrate for the bacteria which thrive in dental plaque. These cariogenic (cavity causing) bacteria produce acids which remove essential minerals from the teeth. This destructive process is called demineralization.
• An average person in the United States now consumes 155 pounds of sugar per year. Unfortunately, processed sugar is not a good nutrient. In fact, only sugar which is in the form of complex carbohydrates (bread, vegetables) is healthy. The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Guide Pyramid clearly shows that sugar should only be a very small part of a child?s diet!
• Sticky, sweet food is very bad for teeth because it maintains high sugar levels in the mouth, and is very likely to cause tooth decay.
• A young child who frequently uses a bottle or sippy cup containing juice or other sweetened liquid has an increased risk of developing early childhood caries (ECC). Children should only have water in their bottle or sippy cup between meals!

About the Author

Dr. Ravel is a pediatric dentist (children's dentist) in Fayetteville, North Carolina (NC). Phone number:(910) 867-8148.