Changing your diet to stop acid erosion
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How should I change my diet?
It's not just what you eat and drink that can damage your teeth - it's how you eat it.
Anita Bean, a registered nutritionist, reveals that some habits that your children have could be doing serious harm to their teeth and making acid erosion worse.
'Acidic food and drinks, such as fruit, fruit juice, fizzy drinks, some soft drinks, and other food like jam and tomato ketchup are common in kids' diets. Often it's how these are eaten that is the problem.'
Anita recommends doing the following to help prevent acid erosion:
- Encourage children to drink acidic drinks through a straw and make sure it's placed near the back of the mouth so the drink is directed away from the teeth
- Peel oranges and give them segments to eat, rather than letting them suck on quarters
- Replace acidic snacks with foods that are kind to teeth, like yoghurt, cheese or raw vegetable sticks, such as carrot, celery or cucumber
- Dairy helps to offset some of the damage to teeth that acid causes. Finish a meal off with a glass of milk, cheese or yoghurt. These are also full of calcium which is great for building strong bones and teeth.
More help and advice
- Tips on treating dental plaque and gum disease
- 6 steps to improving your teeth
- More advice on taking care of your child's teeth
- Worried about your kids' diet? Chat to other mums for advice
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