Babies and toddlers are the focus of a major oral health promotion and education campaign for Dental Health Week, which runs from August 4-10.
The South Australian branch of the Australian Dental Association (ADASA) says that lack of community awareness about the sugar content in refined packaged food and drinks is putting preschoolers at risk of painful tooth decay and extractions.
And snack time is getting the majority of the blame for causing sugar intake with the ADASA saying it poses the greatest dental health risk to babies and toddlers.
“Parents want to do the right thing by their children, but many are simply unaware just how much sugar is in refined packaged snack foods,” says ADASA spokesperson, Dr Angelo Papageorgiou.
“Processed food and drinks are contributing to rising rates of tooth decay in children.”
“It is important to keep baby teeth healthy as they are preserving the space in the mouth for the adult teeth.”
Infections in baby teeth can be painful and affect the adult teeth growing underneath.
While lollies and soft drinks are the main culprits, decay-causing bacteria can use any food that contains refined sugar and carbohydrates such as savoury crackers, potato chips and snack bars.
“Even seemingly healthy snack choices can be dangerously high in sugar. For example, one 200g serve of low fat yoghurt contains seven teaspoons of sugar, as does one 250ml cup of fruit juice.”
“A child who has one serve of low fat yoghurt and one cup of fruit juice in a day could be consuming 14 teaspoons of sugar in those two items alone. In this situation full-fat yoghurt and fresh fruit is the healthier option.”
“Foods that are branded as low-fat generally contain high levels of sugar, as do fruit juice, fruit bars and dried fruits like sultanas. While a muesli bar might seem like a healthy option, it’s essentially muesli held together with sugar.”
“While it is unrealistic to eliminate these foods completely, the ADASA encourages parents to limit processed snacks and replace them with tooth-friendly foods. These include milk, cheese, fresh fruits and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, lean meats and tap water,” said Dr Papageorgiou.
The ADASA offers the following tips to promote good dental health among babies and toddlers:
- If your baby has a breastfeed or bottle of milk at night, gently wipe down their teeth with a moistened cloth before putting them to bed. Never allow your child to take a bottle of milk or other sugary beverage to bed.
- Avoid giving your baby or toddler frequent snacks. Three meals and two snacks per day is sufficient to meet dietary needs.
- Offer a diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables, wholegrain cereals, lean meats and dairy.
- Feed your baby or toddler healthy snacks such as cheese and fresh fruit.
- Limit sugary snacks such as lollies, sweet biscuits, fruit bars, muesli bars, dried fruit, cordials, juices and soft drinks.
- Highly refined packaged foods such as savoury crackers and chips can have high levels of carbohydrate (sugar). Check the nutritional information panel on packaged foods to determine which have high carbohydrate and sugar levels.
- Encourage your child to drink tap water, rather than bottled water, as much as possible so that they gain the benefits of fluoride.
- A healthy diet must be complemented by good oral hygiene – clean your child’s teeth morning and night and schedule regular dental check-ups.
- Schedule your child’s first visit to the dentist at 12 months of age or shortly after the eruption of the first baby teeth.
__small.png)
