• Home
  • Contact
  • Blog
Emergency Line 212-267-0029
HealthFlex
×
  • Meet the Doctor
  • Services
    • Sedation Dentistry
    • Tooth cleaning and polishing
    • Tooth Colored Fillings and Sealants
    • Prevention
    • Digital X-rays
    • Teeth maintenance
    • Tooth Extractions
    • Laser Dentistry
  • Children’s Dental Topics
    • How to Avoid Fear of the Dentist
    • Tips For Infant Oral Health
    • Care of Your Child’s Teeth
    • Cavity Prevention
    • Digital X-rays
    • Diet & Dental Health
    • Eruption and Exfoliation Schedule
    • Mouth Guards/Protectors
    • Pacifiers
    • Perinatal & Infant Oral Health
    • Sippy Cups
    • Sports Drinks & Sodas
    • Thumb Sucking
    • Tooth Grinding
  • Pediatric Dental Emergencies
    • Toothache
    • Knocked-Out Teeth
    • Cut or Bite on Cheek, Lip or Tongue
    • Maxillary Frenum Tear
    • Severe Blow to the Head
    • Possible Broken or Fractured Jaw
  • Online Booking

The Worst Sweets for Children to Eat

The Worst Sweets for Children to Eat
April 5, 2017Articles

It’s that time of year! Whether you’re celebrating Easter or Passover—or both—the plethora of sweets available to your children can post challenges to their dental well being. Because we know that grandparents and other well-meaning relatives will ply them with candy, check out the options below to help you steer clear of the Worst Sweets for Teeth!

The Worst Sweets for Children to Eat

1. Dried Fruit

While dried fruit seems like it should be a healthy treat, truth is, it’s as bad as candy if not worse, as the sticky texture literally “glues” the sugar to the teeth, exposing them to nonstop attacks on the dental enamel.

2. Candies That Take a Long Time to Eat

Candies like lollipops, Tootsie Rolls, gumballs, or solid milk chocolate coins or bunnies actually cause more harm than eating larger quantities of candy over a shorter period of time. Sucking on chocolate or sugary candies is like bathing the teeth in sugar.

3. Sticky Candy

Sticky candies like caramels cause the same problems as dried fruit—the stickiness lets the bacteria proliferate until the teeth are brushed at home. Plus, it’s likely that pieces get stuck between the teeth—if the child doesn’t do a good job flossing, it remains there, literally eating away at the dental enamel.

The Best Sweets for Children to Eat

4. Dark Chocolate

Dark Chocolate is defined as chocolate that’s 75% cocoa or above. This means less sugar! If you start your kids off with dark chocolate, they will not learn to like the more sugary versions! Some studies show that certain properties in chocolate strengthen enamel better than fluoride!

5. Candies With Nuts

Nuts are great at breaking up the stickiness of candy bars, as it’s not just the sweeteners in candy that make them bad for teeth, it’s the length of time that the sugars maintain contact with the dental enamel. Nuts help break up the biofilm on the teeth, thereby decreasing contact.

6. Homemade treats made with coconut sugar or monk fruit sweetener

These two sweeteners pose a lower risk of dental damage than does sugar. If you’re worried about exchanging these sweeteners for sugar in recipes, you’ll be relieved to know it’s almost a 1:1 swap.

Quick Tips to Handle Candy Overload

  1. Rinse the child’s mouth after eating candy
  2. Eat cheese to help absorb some of the candy’s acid
  3. Eat candy at one sitting instead of spreading it out all day; it shortens exposure
  4. Wait to brush 30 minutes after eating sweets. Sounds odd, right? This is because you can, literally, brush the acid (created from the sugar) into the teeth.

Add Comment Cancel


Recent Posts

  • How much Sugar is hiding in your food?
  • What’s in Your Toothpaste?
  • Most Sports-Related Dental Injuries Are Preventable and Treatable
  • Secondhand Smoke and Gum Disease in Children
  • Holiday Dental Emergencies

Recent Comments

    Categories

    • Articles
    • Kids
    • Teens

    Request Appointment

      Your Name (required)

      Your Email (required)

      Reason for visit

      Your Message

      Latest Articles

      Archives

      • August 2021
      • July 2018
      • June 2018
      • May 2018
      • April 2018
      • March 2018
      • February 2018
      • January 2018
      • December 2017
      • November 2017
      • October 2017
      • September 2017
      • August 2017
      • July 2017
      • June 2017
      • May 2017
      • April 2017
      • March 2017
      • February 2017
      • December 2016
      • November 2016
      • October 2016
      • September 2016
      • August 2016
      • July 2016
      • June 2016
      • May 2016
      • April 2016
      • March 2016
      • February 2016
      • January 2016
      • December 2015
      • November 2015
      • October 2015
      • September 2015
      • August 2015
      • July 2015
      • June 2015
      • May 2015
      • April 2015
      • March 2015
      • February 2015
      • January 2015
      • December 2014
      • November 2014
      • October 2014
      • September 2014
      • August 2014
      • July 2014

      ismileKids

      Welcome to iSmile Kids Pediatric Dentistry. We have a passion to provide optimal oral health care for infants, children and adolescents!

      • 212-267-0029
      • mail@iSmileKids.com
      • Trinity Building 111 Broadway, 17th Floor New York, N.Y. 10006

      Quick Links

      • Meet the Doctor
      • Services
      • Contact
      • Request an Appointment

      Latest Articles

      • How much Sugar is hiding in your food? Aug 24

        All of my NYC pediatric dental patients’ parents know that...

      • What’s in Your Toothpaste? Aug 24

        Have you seen the credit card commercials with the line,...

      Copyright ©2021 all rights reserved
      Developed by OBT Creative