Fast Food and Oral Health: Tips for Parents

Research shows that consuming fast-foods is linked to health problems like obesity and diabetes. Fast food can also augment your child’s risk of developing cavities and/or gum disease. Ordering a cheeseburger at a fast-food restaurant typically also comes with a sugary soda and starchy fries. The sugars and carbonation in soda break eat away at the enamel of your teeth making them more susceptible to tooth decay and cavities. Along with good oral hygiene, well-balanced diet is the essential for healthy teeth and gums. Learn some tips to help you balance your child’s diet with nutritious, smile-enhancing foods!

Educate yourself with the facts on your child’s nutrition for oral health and make goals for improvements in your home. Li’l Sunshine Smiles Dentistry  is there with you every step of the way! Contact us today at (813) 576-0200 to make an appointment for a visit!

It’s All About Food Choices

Parents don’t have to sacrifice all fast-food eating with their kids to secure a healthy mouth and body. Fast food establishments today offer many healthy choices for families as well as some not-so-healthy ones. The following tips on how to approach your fast-food dining can ensure that you are doing your part in protecting your child’s teeth and habits. (Also, it is important to note that an occasional indulgence in a soda or shake or other less-than-ideal fast-food choice is okay! You just need to strive for a balance in your child’s day and week so that they aren’t bombarded with dietary choices that are unhealthy or bad for their smiles.

Tips for Smart Fast Food Eating

The following are ways to make your visit to your fast-food restaurant of choice a healthier experience for all:

• Skip the soda or shake, opt for water.  One of the biggest oral care saboteurs you will encounter at a fast food restaurant is the soda. Soda is packed with sugar, with the average soda can housing 38 grams or nine teaspoons of sugar! Skip the soda and go for water instead.
• Choose a side that isn’t fries. Fries are a starch-heavy choice from a fast food restaurant. Choose a fruit or salad option instead.
• Skip the buns. The starchy, stickiness of a white-bread bun sticks to teeth and breaks down enamel. Consider a fast food restaurant without buns or get a meal option that doesn’t include them.
• Set expectations early. Let your children in on your plan for healthier eating at fast food restaurants so they aren’t caught off guard when you exchange some of their wants for their needs. Kids that have a heads up beforehand on the “why we are doing this” will handle it better than if you spring it on them when they are there.

Foods That Are Good for Oral Health

As a helpful review, consider all the foods you can offer your child that are good for their oral health! There are many so your child doesn’t have to feel like they are deprived of delicious options:

• Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables.

• Cheese, milk, plain yogurt, and other dairy products.

• Sugarless chewing gum.

• Foods with fluoride.

Other Tips to Remember for Better Oral Health

Stay away from sticky candies and sweets, starchy foods that get stuck in your mouth, carbonated soft drinks, and substances that dry out your mouth. Along with these healthy mouth tips, the ADA also suggests that if you are going to offer your child something sugary, do it with a meal since your mouth will have made more saliva which counteracts the acid production from sugary foods. Also, limit between-meal snacking. Constant food in your mouth means a constant onslaught of acids on your tooth enamel. Drink more water to help rinse your water of bacteria and to keep fluoride that is in the water helping your teeth stay strong. And, of course, brush and floss daily! Make an appointment with Dr. Botero every six months for a check-up and cleaning. As we work together, we can keep your child’s oral health where it needs to be now and well into the future!

Focusing on your child’s nutrition for oral health can yield big paybacks now and down the road. Li’l Sunshine Smiles Dentistry can help answer any questions you have about making this easy! Contact us today at (813) 576-0200 to make an appointment for a visit!