Though most holiday treats aren’t exactly good for kids’ teeth, some are much better than others. You don’t want to deprive your child of all the delicious snacks, but you can be a little more choosy about which ones they eat. Here are a few holiday treats that will do less damage to teeth than others.

Fruit Breads

Feed your kids homemade fruit breads with lots of fruit to sweeten the bread instead of sugar. These breads are soft to chew and have a reduced amount of sugar, so a slice or two won’t hurt tooth enamel.

No Gummy or Hard Candies

We’re assuming that your children are going to have candy at some point over the holidays, so when they do, try to make sure that it isn’t the worst kind of candy for teeth: gummy or hard candy.

Because you suck on hard candies for a prolonged period, the sugar spends a lot more time in contact with your teeth, opening the window for decay. The hard candy is also potentially damaging to children’s teeth when they bite down on them. If you would like to get hard candies, at least get the sugar free kind.

Gummy candies are equally bad because they stick to teeth and get stuck in the crevices between teeth for long periods of time, letting tooth decay occur.

Chocolate

Though chocolate is full of sugar, it is arguably one of the healthier candies available when it comes to protecting teeth. Chocolate is full of calcium and antioxidants, which both do wonders for strengthening your teeth. It also dissolves quickly and is easily washed away with a glass of water so the sugary substance doesn’t have long to work away at tooth enamel.

Practice Good Dental Hygiene

Unfortunately, these will probably not be the only treats your children eat during the holidays. As they indulge in some of these delicious treats and others, make sure your children are caring properly for their teeth. With your help, they should participate in these healthy hygiene practices:

• Brush their teeth at least twice a day, and we recommend more times if they have eaten a lot of sweets.
• Serve sweet treats with other healthy snacks to help wash the sugar away from teeth.
• Give them a full glass of water to drink after they eat a sweet treat.
• Make sure they are flossing to get any food or sugar particles from between their teeth.
• Take them to the dentist right after the holidays are over to have their teeth professionally cleaned.

If you are in the Phoenix area, give our office a call today to schedule an appointment.