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It’s that time of year when we are all focusing on health and awareness of our bodies and souls. Here are a few easy tips to help your child have natural oral health in the new year.

1. Swish with water after meals.
   The easiest technique and a great way to wash away your food after a meal is simple, swish with water. I taught my kids at a young age how to swish their mouths. They learned by watching me demonstrate and through practice. Swishing with water after a meal helps eliminate food stuck in teeth and gums. The adhesion of food is the initial process of cavity formation and gum disease.
2. Make sure your snacks are not fermentable carbohydrates.
   Did you know it’s not just the food you eat that effects your oral health but the time of day and what you eat with the food? Yes, every kid is going to eat crackers and cookies at some point. Just make sure when they eat processed food it’s with food that can cleanse and alkalize the mouth. My example is that there is something to cheese and crackers. The cheese protects against the crackers. Finish a meal with an apple or carrot. Both of those can cleanse the teeth. Teeth healthy snacks are non-citrus fruits, vegetables, cheese, no sugar added yogurt, nuts, seeds, and meats.
3. Make your child’s treats chocolate.
   Dark chocolate is full of antioxidants that help fight teeth decay. Chocolate is also not sticky, which means it’s easy to clean off teeth. Check out Dr. Roger W. Lucas’s book “More Chocolate No Cavities.” It talks about how the real culprit of cavities are fermentable carbohydrates, sticky candies, and dried fruit. If your child can learn at a young age to reach for the chocolate square instead of the gummy bear, they have a great chance at a cavity free life.
4. Make sure your getting the good bugs in your diet.
   Did you know the American Dental Association is trying to change the name of plaque to microbiome? We want to make sure patients understand your mouth is not full of bad bacteria and food, but good bacteria also. It is the balance of the good bacteria that keeps your mouth health. Nourish your good bugs. Make sure you’re eating fermented foods with probiotics like pickles or yogurt or taking a probiotic. Feed your good bugs with prebiotics. Food rich in prebiotics are nuts and seeds.