From on the go breakfasts and juice boxes to afterschool snacks and sports practices, families make dozens of food and drink decisions every day. When it comes to dental health, those everyday choices matter far more than the occasional treat.
According to dentists, having a healthy smile isn’t about cutting out sweets entirely. Instead, the biggest impact comes from understanding which habits challenge teeth and which small changes can help protect them.
“The most important dentistry is not done in the dental office — it’s done over your sink,” says Dr. Brian Martin, a pediatric dentist at Akron Children’s Celeste Myers Dental Clinic. “It’s the slow, steady, daily habits that really are the foundation of good oral health.”
Food and Drinks to Avoid
Parents know sugar is a major culprit when it comes to cavities, but they might not know that the worst form for teeth is sweetened beverages like sports drinks, energy drinks, sweet tea, soda, flavored seltzers, and sugary coffee drinks.
“Consumption of sweetened beverages, particularly sugar sweetened beverages, is one of the highest risk activities and is the number one issue we see,” Martin says.
“What makes a drink particularly insidious is that you sip on it. You don’t sit down and drink your entire Frappuccino in one giant gulp, which allows the sugar to then go ahead and be cleared out of the mouth by your saliva. When you sip on it, your teeth get this steady bathing of sugar, which then is processed by the bacteria in the mouth and is converted to acid as they do their thing. That’s ultimately what causes dental decay.”
When it comes to food, candy can cause similar issues since it’s something people might eat slowly over a long period of time.
“An example would be a bowl of candy that you would just take one to eat, then 20 minutes later you eat another one,” Martin says. “You have this sugar in your mouth for a longer period of time.”
He adds that processed carbohydrates like crackers, or anything “sticky” — even seemingly healthy foods like dried fruits — can contribute to tooth decay.
“If we think about what causes tooth decay, it’s the bacteria in your mouth doing their thing, basically consuming sugar and releasing acidic byproducts,” Martin says. “So anything that you eat slowly over a long period of time, or anything that gets stuck in your teeth for a while doesn’t give your mouth the ability to clear the carb load and then reestablish a normal pH and keep your teeth healthy.”
Swaps for Healthy Teeth
When it comes to choosing drinks and snacks that carry less risk of tooth decay, aim for minimally processed options.
Martin recommends plain white milk instead of sugary chocolate- or strawberry-flavored alternatives, and water instead of energy or sports drinks.
“Gatorade and Powerade have been marketed very effectively as something that is necessary for sporting activities, when in fact our bodies get by and actually run better just on plain water,” he says. “In my opinion, there are far too many kids drinking far too many sports beverages as their primary means of hydration, rather than just simply drinking water.”
For on-the-go snacks, focus on fresh fruits and vegetables, cheese, plain or lightly sweetened yogurt, hummus, or nut butters.
“An apple with peanut butter on it is a really healthy snack that only takes a couple seconds to prepare and throw into a Tupperware container, then you’re good to go,” Martin says. “That’s something that can be consumed on the run.”
The bottom line is that the less processed something is — an apple vs. applesauce, or an orange vs. orange juice — the healthier it will be for your teeth.
“Think about the difference between a raw carrot and fruit juice,” Martin explains. “The raw carrot, although there’s some carbs there, you have the act of chewing that actually stimulates saliva, which helps protect your teeth. And you don’t generally sit there and eat a carrot for 45 straight minutes, like you might do when sipping on juice.”
He adds that parents should aim for balance, not perfection: the occasional kid-friendly granola bar is okay.
Dental Care Advice
General advice for tooth brushing for all members of the family is two minutes twice a day. Those who are at higher risk for cavities or who have braces should consider brushing after each meal, according to Martin.
“If you can brush after your morning meal before you start your day, that’s a great idea,” he says. “The last thing to go in the mouth at night for a kid should be a toothbrush with a little bit of toothpaste on it. If they rinse their mouth after that nighttime brush, it actually takes a lot of the fluoride out of the mouth and helps reduce the effectiveness of it. So brush it on, then spit out the excess and go to bed.”
Martin says children younger than age 3 should use a smear of fluoride toothpaste, while those older than 3 should use an amount that’s about half the size of a pea.
“Fluoride is incredibly safe and very effective in these doses, and I’m an advocate for the use of fluoride toothpaste for both kids and adults,” he added.
It’s also important to follow up with the dentist on a routine basis so that if there is a cavity starting to form, it can be caught early.
“That’s a big part of the reason why we say every six months, because if somebody comes in and we find something early, it’s a whole lot easier and often less expensive to repair, and it allows you to keep your teeth healthier across your lifetime,” Martin says. “Primary prevention is really, really important and that is completely in the control of patients and families and parents.”
