Oral Hygiene Basics: What Drinks Your Child Should Avoid

When it comes to your child's oral hygiene basics, you probably think that changing the foods they consume can strengthen their teeth. However, drinks actually have a large impact on your child's teeth as well because the traces of particles from what they drink stay behind long after they have finished drinking. Here are drinks to avoid in order to maintain a healthy and beautiful smile.

Drinks to avoid for your child’s oral health

1. Soda

Soda is one of the most damaging drinks for your child's teeth due to its sugar content and high acidity. These properties erode the enamel and lead to cavities, which are holes in the teeth that develop due to decay. In addition, the dark color of soda will gradually stain your child's teeth yellow.

2. Sports drinks

Sports drinks are often considered a healthy choice for children involved in sports and other physical activities. Unfortunately, most sports drinks are not an optimal choice over soda. Sports drinks have a lot of sugar; even sugar-free options are harsh on tooth enamel.

3. Energy drinks

Energy drinks are typically seen and marketed as adult beverages. However, they are increasingly more accessible and appealing to young children. For example, energy drink companies offer flavors kids enjoy, such as cotton candy. Research shows that energy drinks can strip away more enamel from a child's teeth than soda or sports drinks because of the combined sugar and acidic content.

4. Sweetened fruit juice or punch

Although fruit juice contains many essential vitamins, it is also highly acidic due to its concentrated nature. Cranberry and citrus juices tend to be the most acidic, although most fruits used to make juice contain a high level of acid. Fruit punch is another drink to stay away from if you want your child to adhere to proper oral hygiene basics, as it does not contain much real fruit and instead consists of high levels of sugar and high fructose corn syrup.

5. Sweetened tea and lemonade

Both iced tea and lemonade have high sugar content. While lemonade does not often contain real lemon, it can still be acidic and erode enamel, making a child’s teeth more susceptible to acid attacks from bacteria in the mouth. The high sugar content in tea and lemonade also dries out of the mouth. Without enough saliva, sugar sits on the child’s teeth for longer periods of time, and the teeth cannot remineralize as effectively. Research shows that canned iced tea erodes enamel at thirty times the rate of coffee.