It is also important never to put your child to sleep with a bottle of milk or let them sleep without brushing after having a cup of milk. Although many parents make the mistake of thinking that milk is nutritious, it also has a lot of sugar. This sugar bathes the teeth all night, leading to eventual cavities. If drinking milk at night, then brush the teeth after feeding to help prevent baby-bottle decay.

Sticky and chewy foods adhere to the teeth and make it hard for the saliva to wash them away. Caramel candies, honey, molasses, raisins, jelly beans, and other chewy foods cling to the surfaces of the teeth, lengthening the contact of the sugar to the enamel. The long contact with the tooth and the high sugar content will then allow harmful bacteria to grow which leads to tooth decay. Similarly, lollipops, hard candy, or even mints may stimulate tooth decay because they coat the teeth with sugar as they linger longer in the mouth. Make sure to have your children brush their teeth right after eating these kinds of foods.

As parents, your children’s dental health and diet must be one of your primary concerns. Guide them in the right direction for choosing healthy food and introducing alternative snacking and meal options whenever possible. Try to purchase more natural products instead of artificially sweetened products from the market. Encourage them to drink more water instead of soda or juice. Also, try to introduce as many sources of calcium as you can into their diet to help build stronger teeth. These are simple tips that can go along way in ensuring that your child has healthy teeth, free from disease and decay, for the rest of their life.