Here at Vasupujya Dental Clinic the most common misconception we come across is that Chocolates are extremely harmful for children.
We all have seen the joy on a child’s face when we give him/her chocolates but while we are busy seeing that joyful face we neglect the worried face of the parent.
Parents nowadays are extremely paranoid about their child consuming chocolates, which is understandable but all chocolates are not bad for the teeth only the extremely sticky ones are.
The quantity of chocolates given to the child doesn’t matter as much as the frequency of it does. If a child consumes 3-4 chocolates at once it is fine but if they one chocolate every hour for 4 hours it proves to be more harmful for them.
Substituting chocolates with chewing gums is an extremely bad idea the constant chewing of the chewing gum causes the releasing acidic substances which make the surface area of the teeth rough and more cavity prone.
Whenever food debris is stuck on the teeth the bacteria feed on that debris.
The bacteria release acid as a byproduct of this process.
The acids produced cause the demineralization of the enamel which makes the surface of the enamel to become rough.
If this process of demineralization continues it eventually ends up in a cavitated lesion i.e. it makes a hole in the enamel of the tooth.
The roughened surface helps the bacteria stick which eventually facilitates the process of cavitation (cavities).
When your child keeps consuming chocolates and sweet candies frequently it doesn’t permit the pH of the mouth to reduce which hastens the process of demineralization which eventually causes cavitation.
On the contrary when a child consumes an apple the pH of the mouth does reduce but it comes up quickly causing lesser damage to the surfaces of the teeth.
It is not just the chocolates which prove to be harmful for your child’s teeth if they get stuck on it. Even healthy food items like Milk and Fresh Fruit Juices are stuck in your child’s mouth for long can prove to be harmful for teeth.
Milk can also prove to be harmful for teeth milk begins to ferment at the temperature of 37 degrees which causes the release of acidic substances causing harmful effects on teeth.
This does not mean that we deprive our children of the nutrition they get from milk and the fruit juices or the joy they get from eating chocolates and candies.
There is a simple solution and that is BRUSH YOUR CHILD’s TEETH AT NIGHT.
Brushing your child’s teeth after they consume chocolates and candy is that there won’t be anything for the mouth monsters to feed upon hence no damage to the enamel.
At Vasupujya Dental we believe that stronger teeth remain strong because of good habits like brushing at night.
This solution keeps the child’s teeth stronger for longer which is all we want.