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In order to make sure the food your child eats is good for their teeth, make sure they have a balanced diet! Include fruits and vegetables, breads and cereals, milk and dairy products, and meat, fish and eggs. In addition, you want to limit the servings of sugars and starches that your child eats to protect their teeth from cavities. We are never saying "no sugar" or "no candy" ever! The most important thing is everything in moderation - it has to be balanced!

Let's talk about the foods that are the BEST for your child's teeth:

1. Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables
   • Foods with fiber help keep your teeth and gums clean!
   • They also get your saliva flowing - increasing amount of saliva in your mouth helps to reduce the effect of any acid that can attack teeth and start cavities. Saliva also helps to restore the essential minerals to teeth.
2. Cheese, milk, plain yogurt
   • The calcium in dairy products help to put minerals back in your teeth where they have been lost and helps to rebuild tooth enamel, the protective layer of your teeth!

Now what about the foods that can be bad for your child's teeth:

1. Sticky candies and sweets
   • The bacteria that live in our mouths love sugar! They use this sugar to produce an acid that breaks down your teeth, causing cavities!
   • Sticky candies love those deep grooves in your teeth and they stick there really well if you don't brush! The longer the candy stays on the tooth, the higher chance of getting a cavity!
   • If you were to choose a sweet to eat, chocolate would be the best! It melts in your mouth and doesn't stay there like the sticky candies do!
2. Starchy foods such as cookies and crackers
   • These soft foods become sticky after they are chewed and stick to your teeth just as how sticky sweets would!
3. Carbonated soft drinks
   • Not only do these drinks contain a lot of sugar, it is also very acidic that can contribute to wearing away at your tooth enamel, the protective layer of your teeth!

Here's our recommendations (based on recommendations from the American Dental Association):

1. Have your child eat sugary foods with meals, reducing the amount of time the sugar stays in your child's mouth! During meals, more saliva is produced, washing away pieces of food that can stay in the mouth.
2. Limit between-meal snacks. As mentioned before, we don't want foods to be stuck in our teeth for a long time! If your child wants a snack, give them something nutritious, like fruit or veggies.
3. Drink more water! Replace soda and juices with plain water.
4. Always remember to help your child brush and floss 2x/day!

Remember - there's no right or wrong thing to eat, it's all about moderation. Make sure to eat balanced meals!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Banana Muffins

Even as dentists, we all love a sweet treat every now and then. This is the perfect snack you can easily make with your child! The great news is - it only requires 4 ingredients and no special equipment! This healthier recipe is light and fluffy without using flour or refined sugar. What a great way to keep our kids healthy! This recipe can also be modified with any ingredients/toppings you would like. For our muffins, we chose to use peanut butter and chocolate chips, but you can choose sunflower butter and strawberries for a nut-free option! Even without the extra chocolate, the muffin is already naturally sweet from the ripe bananas, so no added sugar needed! Follow our instructions below to make some for yourself!

Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes
Total time: 35 minutes
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of Peanut Butter (for family members that cannot have peanut butter, you can substitute with almond butter, cashew butter, or even sunflower butter or tahini for a nut-free option!
• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed (about 1 cup mashed) - you can mash the bananas with a fork!
• 2 whole eggs
• (Optional Add-ins): 1/3 cup of chocolate chips (you can substitute with 1 cup of fresh berries or 1/2 cup of dried fruit)

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a muffin tin with 12 muffin liners
2. In a medium bowl, combine the peanut butter, mashed banana, and eggs. Mix until smooth (you can mix by hand!)
3. Fold in optional add-ins.
4. Divide batter among the 12 muffin cups (you can use an ice cream scoop for even distribution)
5. Bake at 350 degrees F until the muffins have risen, feel firm to light touch in the center of the muffin, baking for about 20-25 minutes.
6. Allow muffins to cool for at least 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
7. Serve muffins at room temperature once cooled. Store in air-tight container in fridge for best shelf-life (can be stored for up to one week). Can also be frozen for up to 3 months in an air-tight container.
8. Enjoy!

Please go to our instagram page for a video of the recipe. Please continue to come back to our blog for more family-friendly recipes!

Many parents come to the office asking, "when do I start brushing my child's teeth?" The answer is - the sooner the better! Starting at birth, you want to clean your child's gums (even before they have teeth) with a soft infant toothbrush or cloth and water. This helps keep your child's mouth clean and allows you to become comfortable with oral health for your child!

What type of toothbrush can you use? It is best to choose a soft,age-appropriate sized toothbrush. When you purchase a toothbrush, most will note at the top the softness of the toothbrush and will also give you an age range for the toothbrush size. The great part is, toothbrushes come in many fun designs and colors. You can have your child choose a color they like - it'll make brushing that much more fun!

As soon as teeth start to erupt, you can use toothpaste with your toothbrush! For children under 3 years old, you should use a tiny smear of fluoridated-toothpaste. The amount of toothpaste on the toothbrush should be about the size of a grain of rice. Once children are 3-6 years old, the amount should be increased to a pea-sized dollop. The toothpaste amount is really important because young children do not have the ability to spit out. By using the correct amount of toothpaste, your child will not swallow excess toothpaste after brushing. As always, we recommend parents to help their child brush - at least until age 7 years old! A great way to remember this is if your child can tie their shoelaces, then they can brush their teeth on their own! They have developed their hand skills at this time, but you should always check to make sure they brushed all of the hard to reach spots.

Remember to brush 2x/day! Create a routine - brush, book, bed! Brush your child's teeth, read a book together, and have them go to bed! By having a set routine every night, your child will learn that this is something they need to do every day! We will be talking later on on tips of how to make brushing fun!

Have you always wondered when to bring your child to the dentist for their first visit? We have a great rule you can follow - it’s a rule of firsts: First tooth or First Birthday!

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends a child’s first dental visit to be as soon as they get their first tooth (as early as 6 months of age) and no later than their first birthday.

You may wonder, but my child barely has any teeth at this point, why do we need to go so early? Bringing your child to a dentist earlier on has many benefits:

1. 54% of California children have tooth decay by kindergarten
2. Visiting a dentist earlier on can help you learn ways to prevent your child from getting cavities
3. By age one, your child may already have 8 teeth! This means they can already develop cavities!
4. You and your dentist can work together as a team to come up with a healthy teeth plan that works best for your family, such as how to brush and what types of snacks to eat
5. Your dentist can help you understand what teeth are expected next and how to take care of your teething child

But best of all, you’ll always have a friendly face to answer any question you may have. We understand that parenting can be difficult, and we want to be there as part of the process with you. We welcome everyone to be a part of our East Valley Smiles family!