What to Know About Dental Sealants
After a simple and painless dental sealant procedure, your child is less likely to get cavities for years to come. Here’s what you need to know about how dental sealants can help your child.
5 Ways to Protect Your Child's Teeth During Thanksgiving Feasts
A break from school, quality time together, and amazing food make Thanksgiving a favorite time for many children and families. Thanksgiving feasts rate high on deliciousness, but they also can be hard on your child’s teeth.
By following these tips from pediatric dentists Staci Brunell, DMD, and Priyanka Patel, DMD, of Yorktown Pediatric Dentistry in Yorktown Heights, New York, your whole family can have a Thanksgiving that’s as tooth-healthy as it is delicious. These five guidelines help protect your child’s teeth as they enjoy Thanksgiving dinner.
1. Choose tooth-healthy Thanksgiving dishes
Luckily, many tasty Thanksgiving favorites are also good for your child’s teeth. While your child waits for dinner or wants a snack, munching on cheese, nuts, and raw vegetables helps your child’s teeth get stronger and creates saliva to help get rid of bacteria.
Turkey itself is good for oral health, so long as you floss any bits stuck in your child’s teeth after dinner. For side dishes, fresh cranberries offer many health benefits and are just as tasty as the canned version. Your child will also love green beans sauteed with healthy oils and topped with seeds or small bits of fried onions.
At dessert, the classic pumpkin pie contains nutrients that are good for your child’s teeth. As a general rule, avoid hard and sticky foods, and eat high-sugar and high-starch foods in moderation.
2. Eat dessert as part of Thanksgiving dinner
You reduce the negative impact of Thanksgiving sweets on teeth by eating them at around the same time as the rest of the meal. If you’re enjoying pie or another treat, serve it within 30 minutes of finishing dinner.
Your entire family should also rinse their mouth out with water at the end of the dessert course. Chewing sugar-free gum after eating also helps with saliva production.
3. Take breaks from eating between meals
When you’re watching football and sitting around the fire at Thanksgiving gatherings, it’s really easy to snack continuously throughout the day. Eating constantly doesn’t give your child’s teeth enough time to recover between meals.
Aim to go at least two hours without eating. Consider taking a walk or doing another outdoor activity as a family, or reading a book or watching television away from an area with food.
4. Drink lots of water
The exception to the no-eating-between-meals rule is water. Drinking water throughout the day helps your child continue to produce saliva naturally.
If your child doesn’t like water, they might also enjoy certain tooth-health herbal teas, such as mint and chamomile, as a substitute.
5. Time brushing and flossing
After your child finishes their Thanksgiving meal, have them wait at least 30 minutes before brushing their teeth. This reduces their risk of tooth enamel erosion from the natural acids in their teeth.
Your child also needs to continue their routine of flossing once per day and brushing at least twice daily. Turkey tends to get stuck between teeth, making flossing especially important at this time of year.
Thanksgiving dinner is a wonderful tradition, and by keeping up their great habits, your child can enjoy their favorite foods without causing any dental problems. Our team is here to help. Contact us to make your child’s next dental appointment.
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