Nutrition

The 4 Pillars for Healthy Teeth

The "4 pillars" for healthy teeth include regular dental check-ups (at least 2 times a year), the use of fluorides, conscientious home oral hygiene, and a healthy and balanced diet.

The leading cause of tooth decay is sugar

Many parents know that chocolate, candies, and other sweets contain sugar. However, hidden sugars, which, strictly speaking, also belong to the category of sweets, are overlooked. These include all carbohydrates such as glucose (grape sugar), sucrose (common sugar), lactose (in all dairy products), and fructose (fruit sugar in fruits and honey). Therefore, the label "no added sugar" does not automatically guarantee tooth-healthy nutrition.

General advice: it's better to consume a larger amount once a day than small amounts spread throughout the day. This prevents the teeth from being constantly bathed in sugar. Also, pay attention to the tooth logo on sweets.

Chewing a lot helps with dental cleaning

So-called "chewing-intensive" foods like carrots, whole grain products, and meat have a tooth-friendly effect as they partially scrub away dental plaque, massage the gums, and positively influence the quantity and quality of saliva.

Acidic foods can attack tooth enamel

Also recommended are cheese, cold cuts, spreadable cheese, and spreadable sausage as alternatives to sweet spreads, as well as plain quark or yoghurt with fresh fruits, milk, tea, fruit, and plain water. Avoid sweet spreads, honey, muesli, instant teas, sweetened fruit yoghurt, children's yoghurts, chocolate, and chips. Soft drinks, Fanta, cola, and juices (including unsweetened and nectar) contain many sugar and acids that attack tooth enamel.

Preventing early childhood caries

Toddlers should transition from the bottle to the cup by the first year of life.The bottle should only be constantly available or given overnight if filled with pure water. Sweet drinks, juices, diluted fruit juices, milk with sugar or honey, and sweetened tea in the bottle can damage baby teeth, leading to "early childhood caries". When it comes to ready-made baby food, carefully examine the ingredient list to avoid hidden sugars. Prolonged breastfeeding can also lead to caries due to the lactose content in breast milk.

We are happy to provide detailed advice on the "4 pillars," including a nutrition plan upon request.