February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, and many parents across the country will issue a common refrain after dinnertime tonight: “Don’t eat that – it’ll rot your teeth!” Now more than ever, kids are faced with a bewildering array of food choices – from fresh produce to sugar-laden processed convenience meals and snack foods. What children eat and when they eat it may affect not only their general health but also their oral health.
Americans are consuming foods and drinks high in sugar and starches more often and in larger portions than ever before. It’s clear that junk foods and drinks gradually have replaced nutritious beverages and foods for many people. For example, in the U.S., on average, individuals consume approximately 50 gallons of sugary beverages per year. This is one reason why San Juan Basin Public Health, through our Regional Oral Health Specialist program, provides preventive dental services such as dental cleanings, fluoride varnish, sealants, dental screenings and oral health education to children in schools, Head Start centers and other community sites in our region.
Poor oral health can have a detrimental effect on children’s quality of life, their performance at school and their success later in life. The daily reality for millions of children is persistent dental pain, endurance of dental abscesses, inability to chew foods well, embarrassment about discolored and damaged teeth, and distraction from play and learning. The ROHS program focuses on providing school-based dental services in rural and underserved communities where many families face barriers to dental care. By providing dental services at the child’s school, families who take advantage of these opportunities don’t have to worry about the financial constraints caused by transportation issues, time off work, or a lack of dental providers in their community, and children will have less oral pain and will do better in school as a result.
Reducing your children’s risk of tooth decay starts at home. Try to follow these tips to help your child achieve excellent oral health:
- Help your children develop good habits like brushing twice a day and flossing regularly.
- Schedule regular visits with a dental health provider and ask about sealants and fluoride varnish.
- Limit between-meal snacks. If kids crave a snack, offer them nutritious foods like apples and peanut butter.
- If your kids chew gum, make it sugarless – Chewing sugarless gum after eating can increase saliva flow and help wash out food and decay-producing acid.
- Monitor beverage consumption – Children should make healthy beverage choices such as water and low-fat milk.
If you can’t eliminate sugary foods and drinks from your child’s diet, then those foods and drinks should only be consumed with meals. Saliva production increases during meals and helps neutralize acid production and rinse food particles from the mouth.
The ROHS program connects parents and guardians with the resources available in the community, the state, and federally. We can even help walk you through applying for them.
To learn more about this SJBPH program, visit SJBPublicHealth.org/dental or contact our Regional Oral Health specialist at 585-6130 or tanderson@sjbpublichealth.org.
Terra Anderson, RDH, BASDH, is the regional oral health specialist.
