On The Go Dentist Approved Treats
by Dr. Rita Dargham D.M.D.
Read On The Go Dentist Approved Treats by Dr. Rita Dargham D.M.D. to learn more about Grove Smiles® Dentistry and our Dentistry office in Coconut Grove, FL.
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The fall season is coming! After-school activities, carpools, and games on the weekends add extra stress as we try to balance all of our daily routines. In this rush, we sometimes begin a pattern of a “what’s easier at the moment” attitude. Unfortunately, that can also become a poor habit in our choices of what we eat and when we eat.
Start Strong – Stay Strong
We know that proper nutrition is crucial for you and your family’s growth and development. But did you know it is also essential for your dental health?
A simple rule is that a good diet can help your child build strong, healthy teeth, while regular poor eating habits put your teeth in danger of cavities and tooth decay.
Snack Pack Teeth Kind Options
We may be conquering and balancing our regular meals nutritiously, but the one time that may get away from us quickly is Snack Time – those quick in-between quick bite times that may too often become your main meals if you are not careful. To help, here are a few tips to help make sure your snack time is not only nutritious but tooth-friendly.
1. It is best to opt for fruits, vegetables, nuts, yogurt, and cheese for our in-between meal times. Try to avoid starchy, sticky, or sugary foods like dried fruit, crackers, chips, and cookies. These types of snacks will stick to the teeth for extended periods of time, potentially causing cavities.
2. Eat your sweet treats at mealtimes. At your main meals, your mouth produces an increased amount of saliva to allow you to taste your food and help you break down your food for digestion. This saliva production also enables the mouth to wash away those starches and sugary treats; plus counteracts the acid-producing bacteria and remineralizes your teeth.
3. Beware of Added Sugars. Almost all foods have naturally occurring sugars. Naturally occurring sugars–like those found in milk and vegetables–are less bothersome since these choices are healthy overall. What you do want to keep an eye out for when choosing snacks are the additional sugars added by man’s recipes.
The current guidelines set by the American Dental Association recommend that added sugar consumption should be limited to less than 10 percent of your total energy intake, ideally to less than five percent. To help you understand how quickly we can intake sugar, one can of soda is equivalent to three times a child’s daily recommended sugar intake.
Best Choice In Beverages
With the importance of avoiding hidden sugars for our waistlines and oral health, we advise you to choose your beverages wisely. Soda and juice maybe you or your family’s preferred drinks, but milk and water are much healthier choices. Milk is an excellent source of calcium in building healthy teeth and bones. While refreshing, water helps wash away food particles that may be clinging to teeth protecting against decay while rehydrating your body for overall health.
Small But Powerful
Small frequent drinks are essential for overall health, but be careful of constantly sipping beverages besides water throughout the day. Continual consumption of either food or drink is harmful to teeth because not only are you feeding yourself, but you are also feeding the cavity-causing bacteria that reside in your mouth.
The best recommendation is to limit snacking and sip on water. If you prefer to drink anything that contains sugar, drink it during meal times or all at once.
Great Dentist Ready To Help in Coconut Grove, FL
We are proud to help generations of families create and maintain healthy smiles. So call today, as our team at Grove Smiles Dentistry is here to work with you and your family in treating and preventing tooth decay so that your whole family can have a healthy life and a cavity-free smile!
For Your Health,
Dr. Rita Dargham D.M.D.
