By: Dr. Karishma Jaradi, Head Dental Surgeon – Dentzz Dental
Festivals are known for the sweets, or mithai, that are served at them. During the holiday season, everyone gets together with family and eats, so every home has a variety of freshly made snacks. There is a lot for kids to keep bingeing on, from Kaju Katli, Kheer, and Rasmalai to Gajar Ka Halwa and other delicacies. But if there’s one thing these kids tend to ignore, it’s their teeth, especially when it comes to keeping them clean and healthy after they eat.
You can’t say enough about how important it is to keep your teeth from getting cavities after all the festive eating. Tooth decay wears away the enamel on your child’s teeth causing cavities. Hence guarding your children’s enamels against festive binges is crucial as cavity-causing bacteria end up converting the sugar from the food we eat into acids. These acids in turn demineralise and destroy the enamel of the tooth damaging it. Particles of food that we eat tend to remain stuck on the surface of the teeth that in the case of children go unnoticed and end up damaging the tooth enamel.
Teeth protection
It is impossible to completely avoid sweets and snacks or the negative effects of consuming an excessive amount of them. However, if parents take a few precautions, they can prevent their children from developing foul breath, cavities, and gum disease in addition to terrible teeth. Salads, vegetables, nuts, meat, fish, poultry, and other foods that take more chewing are healthy options to protect your children’s enamels. Additionally, parents ought to completely forbid between-meal munching or encourage its replacement with fresh fruit, nuts, or popcorn.
Most children like cheese and eating cheese can help to protect your teeth. It has a reputation for whitening teeth because the high calcium content in cheese expedites the remineralization of enamel. Cheese is also a food that balances the pH on your tongue. It contains significant amounts of calcium and phosphate, which naturally strengthen teeth and bones while generating fewer damaging acids. Consuming cheese also produces more cleansing saliva and results in fewer cavities due to these factors.
Since sugary foods and beverages are a part of festivities, it is advisable to regularly rinse your child’s mouth clean with water to prevent dental cavities and a build-up of plaque. Children tend to delay brushing their teeth or rinsing their mouths with water which simply worsens the situation. For instance, eating bread necessitates brushing and flossing afterward. It is a high-carbohydrate snack that is known to degrade and produce sugar acids which might cause cavities if adequate cleaning is not done afterward.
Finally, ending a meal with a hard item or fruit has long been recommended to reduce dental problems including caries and periodontal disease. By serving as a toothbrush to wipe away plaque and other food particles from teeth, apples’ fiber composition cleans teeth. The acidity in an apple helps destroy harmful bacteria that promote bad breath. Leave the apple peel on if you can since it contains fiber that is good for oral health.
Like apples, carrots too are fiber-rich and brush plaque off your teeth while increasing the flow of saliva, which naturally cleans teeth. Carrots not only whiten teeth but also include Vitamin B which prevents gingivitis. And like apples and carrots, leafy greens like kale help by naturally scrubbing away food debris and plaque while you eat them. These few steps in eating habits and regular brushing will guard children’s enamel against festive binges.
