As a responsible parent, you do your best to ensure your children eat a nutritious, well-balanced diet. You limit their sweet intake. You watch their portion sizes. And you encourage them to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.
But did you know that your loving efforts could damage your children's teeth?
Though fruits may seem like a delicious way to ensure your kids eat enough vitamins, they can also lead to cavities and dental decay in the following ways.
1. Dried Fruit Sticks to Teeth
Dried fruit and fruit leather extend the shelf life of your favourite fruit-based snacks, and the dehydration process concentrates some of the fruit's nutrients.
But before you stock up on dried fruit snacks, remember that a dried piece of fruit measures at a fraction of the size of a fresh one, yet it still contains the same number of calories and sugar. As a result, you and your kids may eat a much larger serving size before you start to feel full.
Furthermore, dried fruit tends to stick to teeth. The concentrated sugars stay on teeth for much longer, feeding the bacteria in your mouth and leading to plaque build-up.
2. Canning Syrups Contain Lots of Corn Syrup
Canned fruit lasts much longer than fresh fruit, so you can purchase an entire case of canned fruits without fear of mould growth any time soon.
But to extend shelf life, many manufacturers drench and package the fruit with corn syrups. Even 'light' syrup contains extra sugars, as the description usually refers to the consistency rather than the sugar content. You can bet that these sugars won't do your teeth any favours.
If you regularly enjoy canned fruits, check the label for 'no added sugar' or '100% fruit juice'.
3. Juices Have Lots of Natural Sugars
If you own a juicing machine, you may make your own juices for your kids. The juices come from fresh fruit, and you don't add any extra sugars, sweeteners or syrups to your personal mix. So you might feel safe feeding it to your hungry, growing children.
But even natural, fresh fruit contains a lot of sugar. One medium-sized apple may contain as much as 19 grams of sugar. And to yield just one cup of juice, you need approximately three medium-sized apples. When you add juice from pineapples, grapes or pears to the mix, you may have more sugar in your juice than you'd find in a typical bar of milk chocolate.
4. Citric Acids Eat Away at Enamel
To avoid the extra sugars, you may choose to skip the dried, canned and juiced fruits and simply opt for fresh, raw fruit. Surely, you can serve up orange slices and strawberry bites without hurting your teeth.
Unfortunately, most fruits include varying amounts of citric acid. This acid measures at a 2.2 on the pH scale. As your mouth needs a pH balance higher than 7.0 to resist cavities, anything lower than a 5.5 pH can eat away and dissolve your teeth's enamel, leaving them vulnerable to decay.
Experts have found that lemons and grapefruit, in particular, have high amounts of citric acid, so they tend to do more damage. But even non-citrus fruit, such as cherries, apples, peaches and plums contain small amounts of citric acid (100 grams of cherries have about 0.1 grams citric acid).
Don't Worry-You Can Still Eat Fruit!
Dried, canned, juiced and citric fruits can wreak havoc on your teeth when you or your children eat them in excess. However, you can still enjoy raw fruit without worrying about cavities.
Raw, fresh fruit has plenty of fibre to promote saliva production and scrub away harmful bacteria. Furthermore, fruit such as cumquats, blackcurrants, figs and blackberries all offer plenty of calcium, which improves tooth retention.
Just remember to brush and floss 30 to 60 minutes after you eat a serving of fruit, and encourage your children to do the same to minimise the damage. And don't forget to schedule an appointment with your dentist on a semi-annual basis.
