Why do children get cavities even if they don't eat sugar?

Cavities, commonly known as tooth decay or rotten teeth, are the most common oral diseases in children. It is true that the occurrence of cavities is closely related to food, especially sugar. The problem is that many parents only think about restricting their children's intake of sugar, chocolate, and sweets, but forget to guard against other types of "sugar" in children's food.

We know that children's diets often consist of soft foods such as milk powder, cakes, cookies, and some puffed snacks. Their common characteristics are strong stickiness and high sugar content, which easily stay on the surface of the teeth, ferment, and produce acid, becoming one of the important factors leading to cavities. Therefore, parents should pay attention to preventing various types of sugar from lingering in their children's mouths.

For artificially fed infants, parents should give them a little water after each feeding to clean the mouth. Since the child is too young to brush his teeth, parents can use gauze or cotton swabs to clean and protect the newly grown teeth.

Parents must not let their children develop the bad habit of sleeping with a bottle in their mouth. When infants suck on a nipple, it adheres to their upper deciduous front teeth (commonly known as incisors), while the bottle usually contains milk, sugar, fruit juice, and other foods that easily produce acid and ferment, quickly causing decay of the incisors and soon developing into extensive decay or stumps. Many children who have basically lost all their front teeth in clinical settings are mostly these "bottle babies".

When children can eat rice, parents should ensure that they do not form the habit of holding rice in their mouths and eating while playing. Because rice also contains sugar, staying in the mouth for a long time will also produce acid and ferment, causing cavities.

You may also want to read the article: Beware of Rapid Development of Baby Teeth Cavities.

The dental experts at Hospital 454 remind us: Treating cavities is best done at regular medical institutions to avoid adverse consequences caused by non-standard operations. If you still have questions about children's cavities, you can contact the online experts for consultation and related answers.