Snacking: A Slippery Slope to Cavities

Your child’s diet can affect his or her teeth.¹ And sugar isn’t the only culprit; many snack foods are to blame, too.² Here are some healthy nutrition habits to help protect baby teeth:

• Don’t give kids soda in a sippy cup.² This encourages them to nurse it all afternoon, leaving sugar on the teeth.² Instead, give kids calcium-rich low-fat milk.³

• Limit sweet snacks, crackers, potato chips, and other starchy foods.^2,3

• Avoid gooey or chewy sweets.⁴ They stay on the teeth longer than foods that your child will swallow quickly.⁴

• Have sweets as a dessert after a meal instead of between meals.⁴

¹ “Dental Hygiene: How to Care for Your Child's Teeth.” American Academy of Family Physicians, June 2007. familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/home/children/parents/kidshealthy/healthy-choice/227.printerview.html Accessed 2010.

² “What Foods Cause Tooth Decay in Children?” American Academy of General Dentistry, February 2007. www.agd.org/public/oralhealth/Default.asp?IssID=295&Topic=C&ArtID=1161 Accessed 2010.

³“Child Dental Health.” U.S. National Library of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, September 25, 2008 . www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/childdentalhealth.html Accessed 2010.

⁴ “Snack Smart for Healthy Teeth.” National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, National Institutes of Health, August 1, 2008. http://www.nidr.nih.gov/health/pubs/snaksmrt/sec4.htm Accessed 2010.