6 Ways to Reduce Your Child's Sugary Snacking (Part 2 of 3)

Skip the Soda
Call it soda, call it pop. But sugary, carbonated beverages by any name are bad news for your child’s teeth. “One can of soda is the amount of sugar recommended for three days for a child,” Dr. Hayes says.

In fact, a February 2016 study in the Journal of the American Dental Association found a strong association between sugary drinks and poor dental health in teenagers. Researchers asked teens 14-19 in Mexico about how many sugary beverages they drank, then examined their teeth. They found 31.7% had tooth erosion, which means their enamel had been eaten away. The main culprit? Soda. 

Be Picky About Sticky Snacks
If you’ve been under the impression that gummy or sticky fruit snacks are healthy alternatives, you’re not alone. Many parents are surprised to learn they are really closer to candy than fruit, especially when it comes to sugar. “Fruit rollups and other dried fruit snacks are like nature’s candy,” Dr. Shenkin says. “It is like candy, but in some respect it’s worse than candy because it sticks to teeth longer than things like milk chocolate, which is easier to wash away.”

Foods like raisins, which are often promoted as an all-natural snack option, can be troublesome. “The raisin is one of the worst foods because they’re so sticky and they actually adhere to teeth and stay there for an extended amount of time,” he says. “The sugar in that food is being consumed by the bacteria in our mouth during that time.”

To read the entire article visit MouthHealthy.org.

Hicks Family Dentistry   
Kevin Hicks, DDS 
756 Lititz Pike
Lititz, PA 17543 
(717) 625-0596 
HicksFamilyDentistry.com

Choosing Wisely: 5 Things Every Family Should Know About Dental Health (Part 1 of 3)

Use toothpaste with fluoride for infants and children 












For children younger than 3 years, you should begin brushing a child’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste in an amount no larger than a grain of rice. For children 3 to 6 years of age, use a pea-sized amount of fluoride toothpaste.

Consider sealants to prevent decay or treat beginning cavities on the back teeth 












Dental sealants act as a barrier to prevent cavities. They are a plastic material applied by a dentist to the chewing surfaces of the back teeth where decay occurs most often.

To read the entire article visit MouthHealthy.org.

Hicks Family Dentistry   
Kevin Hicks, DDS 
756 Lititz Pike
Lititz, PA 17543 
(717) 625-0596 
HicksFamilyDentistry.com

Children's Dentistry

We Care About Kids!
At Hicks Family Dentistry, we want to relieve your child’s apprehensions before beginning any kind of treatment. You can be confident that your child will receive the latest innovations in children’s dentistry, with techniques intended to lessen their time in the chair, conveyed with caring, thoughtfulness, and compassion. We love encouraging appropriate dental care routines and look forward to instructing children how to keep their teeth healthy for a lifetime. Bring them in for their first dental appointment with us when they are three years old and see why our many happy parents say our office is an appealing place their children love to visit. Whether you have a nervous eight-year-old or a rowdy four-year-old, we are here to help.

Hicks Family Dentistry   
Kevin Hicks, DDS   
756 Lititz Pike  
Lititz, PA 17543   
(717) 625-0596   
HicksFamilyDentistry.com