We at Teeth Team want to help parents keep their child’s mouth healthy for the long term. Here’s a guide to giving your child what’s healthy for them and what’s also kind to their baby teeth.
The best snacks for a toddler are ones that don’t contain lots of sugar. When a child eats sugar, the bacteria in the mouth mix with the sugar to make a mild acid. This acid will attack the hard outer layer of the teeth – so over time, sugary food and drink can cause cavities(Moynihan 2005, Hurlbutt et al 2010).
Try to cut out sugary foods from your toddler’s diet altogether. Alternatively, keep them to mealtimes only and offer healthy snacks instead (BNF 2009).
Tooth-friendly snacks include:
- Plain popcorn
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Cheese
- Plain yoghurt
- Oatcakes with peanut butter
- Fresh fruit
- Raw or cooked vegetables
- Soft cheese with mini-breadsticks.
You can find more tips on healthy eating and helping your child look after their teeth in our resources section.
Teeth Team is a school-based supervised tooth-brushing programme, incorporating clinical dental assessments, applications of fluoride varnish and the subsequent signposting for accessing primary and secondary dental care. It is a collaborative working partnership between local dental practices, government, schools, and parents in an effort to improve the dental health of children predominantly across Hull, East Riding, Lincolnshire, North Yorkshire and Nottingham.