A mother or father wrote me final week:
“We brush. We floss. We’ve switched toothpaste. However my child nonetheless retains getting cavities. What are we lacking?”
I’ve heard that query a whole bunch of occasions. It’s at all times requested with the identical mixture of desperation and guilt.
And it at all times results in the identical fact: Cavities don’t simply come from poor brushing. They arrive from each day habits that really feel innocent.
Goldfish crackers. Gummy nutritional vitamins. Mouths that keep open by the night time.
When you’ve carried out every thing “proper” and the cavities hold coming, this e mail is for you. Let’s discuss what truly makes a distinction.
Let’s begin with the each day multivitamin.
Again within the 90s, we gave our daughters Flintstones nutritional vitamins from Costco. I brushed their enamel each night time and nonetheless noticed that sticky movie clinging to their molars like caramel. They by no means bought cavities—however a dentist (that’s me) was brushing and flossing their enamel earlier than mattress. Most households don’t have that!
Now the issue is worse. Gummies are all over the place—multivitamins, probiotics, melatonin, magnesium. And whereas they appear like a sensible alternative, they weren’t designed with the mouth in thoughts.
Your child’s tooth doesn’t care if it’s a gummy vitamin or a gummy worm. It reacts the identical method.
In case your baby takes a gummy, right here’s a greater choice: change to a dental-friendly vitamin like Hiya. I prefer it as a result of it’s sweetened with monk fruit—no sugar, no acidity, and it doesn’t feed the micro organism that trigger cavities or disrupt the oral microbiome. For my eldest granddaughter—who struggled with cavities—this was a recreation changer. She had to surrender her beloved Nordic Naturals gummies, and these made the transition simple.
When you keep in mind one factor, make it this: A gummy vitamin daily does extra injury than goldfish crackers as soon as a month.
Now let’s discuss snacks.
We all know juice and soda aren’t nice. However most mother and father are shocked after I convey up goldfish.
Starchy snacks like crackers and pretzels break down into sugar—they usually stick. They lodge into the grooves of child molars and sit there for hours. That’s the place cavities start.
You don’t need to ban snacks. However you do want to consider texture. Ask: will this cling to enamel? Finest option to know is to have some your self! Does it follow your enamel?
Higher choices? Moon Cheese which doesn’t stick and is constructed from only one ingredient—cheese. Which means no added sugars, no starches, and nothing that feeds the micro organism behind cavities. Cheese is mineral-rich and helps stabilize oral pH, making it a really tooth-friendly snack. Oh, and may’t neglect my favourite—meat sticks!
An excellent “hack” is chewing xylitol gum in between meals (I like these ones as a result of they’re freed from important oils, which disrupt the oral microbiome). Xylitol doesn’t simply scale back cavity threat—it actively protects in opposition to it. In a single examine, xylitol was proven to inhibit the expansion of micro organism within the higher airway, together with Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae. One other long-term examine discovered that xylitol gum helped scale back cavities even 5 years after youngsters stopped utilizing it. And timing issues: analysis exhibits the sooner youngsters begin chewing xylitol gum persistently, the stronger the long-term safety. This isn’t nearly avoiding injury—it’s about serving to the mouth keep wholesome by itself. (PMID: 7486925, PMID: 8281565, PMID: 10096456)
Subsequent: respiration.
In case your baby sleeps with their mouth open, brushing and flossing received’t be sufficient. Mouth respiration dries the tissues, lowers oral pH, and creates the best situations for cavities to thrive.
You’ll be able to’t repair this in a single day, however you can begin retraining the physique.
Right here’s what I like to recommend: Throughout TV time, use MyoTape—a delicate, kid-safe tape that encourages lip closure whereas they sit and focus.
Display time works properly as a result of they’re nonetheless, relaxed, and motivated. Respiration by the mouth is extra noticeable in that state—and it provides you a quiet second to construct consciousness and introduce a brand new behavior with out a energy battle.
Begin with 10–quarter-hour. Construct from there.
In case your baby can’t hold their mouth closed comfortably, one thing deeper could also be occurring. Tongue ties. Enlarged adenoids. A slim palate.
If that’s the case, see a purposeful dentist or airway-focused ENT. They may help uncover what’s making nasal respiration arduous—and what to do subsequent. Yow will discover a supplier by the Practical Dentist Listing or the AADSM (American Academy of Dental Sleep Medication) listing. These are nice beginning factors in the event you’re unsure who to show to.
And at last: water.
In case your baby isn’t consuming a lot water throughout the day, they’re doubtless not producing sufficient saliva to guard their enamel.
Saliva is your baby’s built-in protection system. It’s stuffed with minerals that rebuild enamel. It buffers acid. It helps the mouth heal itself. Nevertheless it solely works if the physique is hydrated.
Right here’s what occurs: each time your baby eats—particularly carbs or sugar—acid ranges within the mouth rise. That acid pulls minerals from the enamel, weakening it. However saliva steps in. It brings again calcium, phosphate, and different minerals to rebuild the enamel. That’s remineralization. And when it really works, it could cease cavities earlier than they begin.
However it could’t work in case your baby is dry.
When youngsters are dehydrated, saliva slows down. The pH drops. Acid builds. Micro organism thrive. It will get even worse at night time, particularly for mouth breathers. They get up with a dry mouth and no safety.
The repair isn’t fancy. It’s good quaint water. Particularly after meals and snacks, when acid is at its peak. And in case your baby resists water, give them a particular straw or allow them to pick a water bottle. I really like this flavored electrolyte—it’s non-acidic with a pH of about 6.5, which is near impartial and much safer than many fashionable electrolyte drinks that fall properly beneath the crucial pH threshold. Lemon Lime is my favourite taste.
Brushing and flossing matter—however they’re not the entire image.
In case your baby retains getting cavities, don’t blame your self. Have a look at the each day habits.
The excellent news is: you possibly can shift the sample. One determination, one behavior, one substitute at a time. That’s how actual prevention works. And it’s how your child’s story modifications.
Know a mother or father combating this? Ahead this to them. It is perhaps the primary time they’ve heard a dentist join the dots between on a regular basis habits and tooth decay—with actual options.
Discuss quickly,
Mark (Dr. B)
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P.S. Pictured beneath: real-world testing by the grandkid panel. Nobody’s requested for his or her gummies again. One of many perks of getting a grandpa for a dentist is getting recruited for stuff like this. I used to be genuinely excited to seek out a youngsters’ vitamin made with enamel in thoughts—no sugar and nothing that undoes the work we’re doing to guard their mouths.
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