Easter has always been
a time to celebrate with family and friends. Originally involving the trading
of eggs painted in bright colours, this tradition has evolved into a chance to
gorge on something less healthy - the chocolate Easter egg.
While it’s an exciting
time for children, Easter egg hunts and their sugary prizes can spell disaster
for their teeth. So, how can you make sure you protect your child’s teeth
without ruining their fun?
Here at Synergy Dental
Care, Dr. Richard Armishaw offers some helpful tips on ensuring your kid’s
teeth remain in great shape over the Easter period - no matter how many
chocolate eggs they munch their way through!
According to Richard,
children can still enjoy the abundance of Easter confectionary without running
the risk of damaging their smiles. The trick is to encourage them to eat sweets
at the end of a meal, rather than constantly nibbling throughout the day:
“Contrary to popular belief, frequent eating of sugary food and drinks is far
worse for the teeth than the volume children actually eat. After eating sugar,
teeth are under acid attack for up to an hour, so if you can reduce the number
of occasions your child eats sugar throughout the day, you also limit the amount
of time that their teeth are susceptible. This is really important over Easter
when children eat more sugary foods than normal.”
A good tip to help
manage sweets and chocolates is to put them in a special box or tin and allow your
children to choose some to eat at the end of a meal. During Easter, introduce
sweets at mealtimes only, with perhaps one additional snack. Your child’s teeth
will be able to withstand those four attacks of sugar and acid, and after cleaning
their teeth before bed you can also go to sleep with a clear conscience!
Be aware of danger
factors as children naturally
prefer sweet food, the challenge for parents is to balance giving them the food
they love while at the same time looking out for their teeth and gums.
Richard reminds
parents that there is no shame in letting the kids have a little of what they
fancy at Easter: “Parents simply need to be aware of the danger factors for
teeth - sugar and acid.
Knowing how to combat
them means that foods containing sugar do not need to be avoided altogether.”
Richard suggests
using the Easter school holidays as a good time to brush up on children’s teeth
care habits: “School holidays give parents a bit more time to check that
children are brushing their teeth properly. Dentists recommend children brush
their teeth using fluoride toothpaste for two minutes once in the morning and
once at night. “I’d also recommend that you encourage your children to spit
rather than rinse. Rinsing after brushing reduces the effectiveness of
fluoride, so don’t rinse it all away.
“Another fun way of
encouraging children to brush their teeth properly is to give them
plaque-disclosing tablets. These turn the mouth dark blue in areas where
there’s plaque left and show you where you need to brush more. These are
available from dentists and chemists and are less than £2 for a packet.”
If you need guidance
on helping your children to brush their teeth correctly then why not pop along
to the Synergy Dental Care over the school holiday, where our Arina our Dental
Therapist will be happy to show your kids brushing techniques.
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