As a parent, you need all the help you can get to keep your kids’ teeth and gums healthy. With all the sugar and resistance to brushing you often encounter, even just a little help is welcome. That’s why you need to call us today at our Laredo, TX dental offices: Junction Drive at 956-242-6745 or Winfield at 956-517-2695. Our dentists work very well with children. With regular dental cleanings and dental exams, your kids’ smiles can stay healthy.

However, there are a few things you should be doing at home, because sometimes your kids’ teeth are being hurt without you realizing it.

Tips For Protecting Your Kids’ Teeth And Gums

Of course, brushing and flossing should be vital parts of your family’s dental health routine. But there are a few other tips that can help fight cavities, gum disease, and more.

  • Go with protein instead of sugar and carbs at the breakfast table.
  • Limit candy and desserts to rare occasions.
  • Push everyone to drink water and milk most of all.
  • Make sure brushing happens twice each day.
  • Floss every night after dinner.

Don’t forget about regular trips to Davenport Dental Group for dental cleanings and dental exams. Our team has the training and technology needed to get your family’s teeth truly clean. Plaque, tartar, and harmful bacteria are hard to remove at home. And thanks to the years of experience our dentists have, they can locate any problems while they are still small and easier (and cheaper) to repair. Think a small tooth filling rather than a larger one.

Quiet Dangers Of These Common Drinks

You know about the dangers of sugar. That’s why you likely limit how much candy and regular soda your kids enjoy. However, here are some common drinks that can damage their teeth and gums. You might want to consider limiting these as well.

DIET SODA

Many people say, “Hey, diet soda has no sugar, so it’s good for your teeth!” Not so fast. While it’s true that diet soda is better for your dental health than regular soda, the problem lies with acid. All sodas (diet and regular) are very acidic. It’s what gives soda a tangy flavor.

It’s also what erodes the enamel on your teeth. People who drink a lot of diet soda are weakening their teeth because the acids in soda eat way at the enamel.

FRUIT JUICE

While it is definitely true that fruit juice has plenty of vitamins and are healthy that way, they’re also full of sugar. When it comes to the bacteria behind cavities and gum disease, it doesn’t matter if the sugar is natural or high fructose corn syrup — all of it helps those bacteria thrive.

Plus, fruit juice is very acidic. If you are starting to think that fruit juice sounds a lot like regular soda, you get it.

SPORTS DRINKS

More and more kids are drinking sports drinks after they’re done with their game or just as a regular drink. Unfortunately, that can be a problem for their teeth. While most sports drinks do not have sugar, they almost always have a lot of carbohydrates.

Carbs are very similar to sugar. That’s why so many diets recommend cutting back on both. Coating your teeth and gums in carbs is close enough to sugar for those bacteria.

COFFEE AND TEA DRINKS

Here, it really depends on how the drinks are taken. Thanks to the popularity of coffee chains these days, kids can easily get a coffee or tea drink that’s more like a caffeinated milkshake. These are full of a lot of sugar that can encourage cavities and gum disease.

Even if you drink coffee or tea without any sweetener, they’re still highly acidic. Like with diet soda, this damages your enamel. In addition, both drinks are very dark and leave behind tiny stains on your teeth. Over time, this will turn even the brightest smile into one that’s dull and dark.

Call us today at our Laredo, TX dental offices (Junction Drive at 956-242-6745 or Winfield at 956-517-2695) to schedule dental cleanings and dental exams for your whole family. You can’t always be there to help your kids make great choices. That’s why regular visits to the dentist are so important. With them, your children’s’ smiles have a much better chance of staying healthy for years.