Control the frequency, eating sugar does not necessarily cause tooth decay

"Mom, I want to eat sugar!"

"No, eating candy will cause tooth decay!"

Eating sugar leads to tooth decay, and not eating sugar or eating less sugar can reduce the chance of tooth decay, which is the consensus of many parents. However, your dentist tells you that this view is not accurate.

"In fact, as long as the method is done properly, children will not suffer from tooth decay if they eat a little more sugar." A few days ago, Han Yongcheng, director of the Prevention Department of Beijing Stomatological Hospital affiliated to Capital Medical University, said in a guest lecture hall of People's Daily Online Famous Doctors that reducing the number of times, rather than reducing the total amount, is the "secret" of children eating sugar and not getting tooth decay.

Why control the frequency instead of the quantity?

Han Yongcheng told everyone that first of all, sugar is of great significance to the health of the human body, and excessive control of children's sugar intake may affect children's development, especially neurological development and brain development in infancy and early childhood, so it is necessary to ensure sugar intake.

Second, snacks such as candy are harmful to your teeth because eating snacks many times will keep your mouth in an acidic environment for a long time. In the long run, this increases the chance of tooth decay. The length of time your mouth is in an acidic environment depends on how often you eat, not how much you eat.

Based on this principle, some kindergartens in Hong Kong have adopted a "yellow cloth bag" method to help children prevent tooth decay. The kindergarten gives each child a small yellow cloth bag, and when the child wants to eat candy, he puts the sugar in the yellow cloth bag; If you want to eat cookies, put them in and eat them together.This not only ensures the child's nutrition and needs, but also reduces the number of snacks and can prevent dental disease.

Han Yongcheng said that in daily life, parents can follow the above practices to reduce the number of snacks their children eat, and at the same time, after the children have eaten, they should rinse their mouths in time, brush their teeth if possible, and try to maintain the hygiene of the oral environment.