Impossible, right? Actually, it’s very possible. As a parent, you probably cringe every year about this time thinking about all that candy your kids are going to get on their fun night of trick-or-treating. And all that sugar swishing around in their mouths, well, it’s on a mission to destroy your kid’s teeth and tooth structures. But it doesn’t have to be that way. There are things you can do as a parent to help your kids get through Halloween and all its sugary ghoulishness without coming out on the other end with a mouth full of cavities.
What you eat has a huge impact on your oral health. It seems so obvious, doesn’t it? Pretty much everything we eat or drink touches our teeth in one way or another. We chew certain foods. We drink liquids, and they pass over our teeth. So, if everything we eat has an impact on our teeth, then why do so many of us not consider our teeth and our diets when we’re considering what to have for lunch? The fact is that diet plays a huge role in dental health, but not just because foods and beverages come into direct contact with our teeth. The nutrients found (or not found) in foods also play a vital role in the health of our teeth. Following are answers to common oral health questions about how various vitamins and minerals affect the health of your teeth.
You’ve probably heard all sorts of horror stories about sugar. It packs on weight; it’s bad for your teeth; it causes health problems. And you know what? They’re all true. Okay, most people like to have a little sugar in their diet. After all, a spoonful of it makes the medicine go down, right? Remember though … that’s a spoonful of sugar. But do you know how many spoonfuls of sugar there are in just one can of non-diet soda? Are you ready for this? The answer is … ten! That’s right, there are ten teaspoons of sugar in every single 12-ounce can of soda! Recent studies show that the average American teenager drinks upwards of a can and a half cans of soda per day. That equals the consumption of more than four pounds of sugar per month in soda alone! And all that sugar is wreaking havoc on teeth.