A dentist has shared the one food that he says is the biggest cause of cavities for children, and it may surprise you.
We are well aware of how important it is to keep our children’s teeth healthy with proper oral hygiene and limiting foods and drinks that we know to be damaging to teeth. So we avoid letting our kids eat sticky sweets and drink juice in an effort to ensure that they grow up with healthy smiles. However, according to one dentist, there is a culprit for cavities that many parents overlook, and it’s a kitchen and lunchbox staple.
Lunchbox staple that causes cavities according to dentist
Dr Mark Burhenne, a dentist and dad, who posts on social media under the handle Ask The Dentist, took to Instagram to share what he says is the ‘most cavity-causing food’, and you may be surprised.
In a post about things that make cavities worse, and it’s not eating the most sugar, Dr Burhenne said that crackers are the single most cavity-causing food there is [in his opinion]’.
Explaining further, the dentist wrote: ‘It’s because crackers are a single simple starch’. He says that crackers, especially those aimed at children’s lunchboxes, like Goldfish in the US or Tucs and Ritz in Ireland, turn pasty when chewed and stick to ‘the grooves of the teeth as your kid chews it’.
RELATED: Dentist explains why children’s adult teeth look yellow as they come in
He continued: ‘The stickiness is the problem, it lodges in the chewing surfaces and stays there so the acid attack keeps going long after the snack is gone.’
Mark went on to say that these snacks are often labelled as ‘healthy’ or ‘for kids’ so ‘parents hand them out freely’, and in our experience, they are a handy lunchbox food or afterschool snack that will please even the pickiest of eaters.
‘Refined starch breaks down as sugar in the mouth, the bacteria feast, and the sticky residue extends the acid exposure.’
RELATED: Dentist reveals surprising treat you should include in kids’ lunchboxes
Elsewhere in the post, the dentist added that the children who have the most cavities aren’t the ones who eat the most sugar, they are the ones that ‘eat all day long’.
‘Every time your child eats anything with carbs or sugar, the bacteria in their mouth produce acid, and that attack lasts up to 30 minutes after the last bite,’ he said. ‘Teeth can only rebuild themselves between meals, when saliva has time to carry minerals back into the enamel. Take that recovery time away and even a careful eater ends up back in the chair. The fix is simple: Snacks with meals, water in between, and dessert eaten with dinner instead of as a standalone treat.’
Dr Burhenne also pointed out mouth breathing as another cause of cavities that is often overlooked.
