How important is a child’s diet in the prevention of cavities?
While good oral hygiene is of utmost importance in the prevention of cavities, lack of a proper diet can have a tremendous impact on a child’s cavity rate. It is important to limit not only the quantity of sugary food and drinks that your child consumes, but also the frequency. You should think of cavity formation as a process. Each time a sweet substance comes in contact with teeth, the cavity process begins. The more times in a day that you consume something sweet, the longer the cavity process is underway. By nature, many children like to snack or graze throughout the day and many of the foods which children enjoy are loaded with sugar. Even foods which we sometimes consider “healthy” can be very high in sugar content. Examples include: yogurt, granola bars, cereal and chocolate milk. If you are uncertain as to how much sugar a food item has, check the label.
