Teeth

 


Tooth decay is has been becoming more and more prevalent for the 200 years, starting with the invention of refined sugar, and culminating perhaps in family packs of Mars bars at 24-hour Tesco superstores. Here's a fascinating expert explanation of how tooth decay works, and how to get kids brushing regularly, from the Chief Executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, Dr Nigel Carter:




“The main cause of tooth decay is not the amount of sugar and acid in a diet, but how often we eat or drink it. Foods and drinks with sugar in can lead to tooth decay, as the sugar reacts with the bacteria in the plaque on teeth and produces harmful acids. These acids attack the teeth and dissolve the protective layer of enamel. This can eventually cause a hole or ‘cavity’ in a tooth, and can lead to tooth loss. Sugar in food comes under many guises, look for sucrose, glucose, fructose, and maltose in the ingredients list as all of these are sugars.


"The acid attacks on the teeth can last up to one hour before the natural salts in the mouth’s saliva cause the enamel to ‘re-mineralise’ and harden again. Therefore, each time something sugary is consumed, the teeth are under attack for an hour – if this happens regularly the teeth do not have enough time to fully recover.

"It would be difficult to get any child to give up sugary foods and drinks altogether. The important thing to do is to encourage them to cut down on how often they have sugar in their diets. Try encouraging children to pick healthy snacks such as raw vegetables, bread, crackers, breadsticks and fruit (although huge amounts can lead to dental erosion due to the acids in fruit). Milk and water are by far the healthiest drinks for teeth and gums. Furthermore, make sure children have no more than three meals and two snacks a day.

"It is not just sugars that are harmful though. Other types of carbohydrate foods and drinks react with plaque and form acid; these fermentable carbohydrates are sometimes added to processed food. There are also ‘hidden sugars’ in fruit and cooked starches.

"To prevent tooth decay it is vital that the teeth are cleaned thoroughly. Brushing teeth twice a day (morning and night) for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste is a crucial part of good oral hygiene, as is regular visits to the dentist.

"Try to encourage children to view brushing as part of their daily routine – something they do alongside washing their face and brushing their hair. Children should have a toothbrush with a small, soft head on it and should brush their teeth using a pea-sized blob of fluoride toothpaste. Children up to the age of three should use a toothpaste with a fluoride level of at least 1000ppm (parts per million). Children over the age of three should use toothpaste that contains 1350-1500ppm. The level of fluoride can be checked on the back of the toothpaste packaging. Children, up to the age of six, should be supervised when brushing their teeth. Parents should check that their children spit out any toothpaste and do not swallow any if possible.”

Dads Space healthy recipes

 
granola_150

We present some healthy dishes delicious!

We are what we eat

 
healthydiet_220

As a dad, you're a foreman building a human, good materials mean ...

Superfoods

 
superfoods_220

What are they, and are they really super? Dads Space investigates...

An inconvenient itch

 
safesex_150

We talk about sexually transmitted infections

Say no to Dr Google

 
drgoogle_220

He's a rubbish GP, and really can't do anything for you, asides f...

 

Search our help articles

Dads Space survey

Help us improve Dads Space by answering some quick questions. You could win a £10 Amazon voucher!

Take the survey

Dads Space channels:

Explore Dads Space