The foods that your child eats are what create cavities. This creates a difficult struggle, as your child needs to eat, but eating will damage his teeth. When you factor in estimates that 90 percent of all food contains sugar or starches and it might seem like you are fighting a losing battle. It isn’t hopeless, however, as there are some things that you can do to improve your child’s oral health.

The Key
The best thing that you can do for your child is limit his snacking. Your Carlsbad pediatric dentist would recommend giving your child three meals per day and then limiting snacks to sugar-free foods. When your child wants something sweet, give it to him right after his meal. Every time your child eats something with sugar, it attacks his teeth for 20 minutes. The fewer of these attacks you expose your child to per day, the healthier his teeth will be.

What to Snack On
Of course, your child will probably want at least one snack during the day, since she is growing quickly and needs the calories. Snacks that your Carlsbad pediatric dentist would approve of include cheese, vegetables, fruits, peanut butter, and yogurt. These items won’t do as much damage to your child’s teeth, since they are low in sugar.

Dentist Appointments
While it might seem impossible to keep your child’s teeth healthy, your dentist can help as well. Getting your child in for a regular cleaning at Carlsbad Children’s Dentistry can go a long way towards improving his oral hygiene. Call 760-633-1131 to set up an appointment.