List of fruits to avoid to prevent toddler tooth decay

[destsbh]

Hi,

My two year old dd loves to eat fuits esp. bananas, and I was wondering if bananas are good for her teeth. So far she has healthy teeth. I read somewhere under nutrition thread a few months ago or last year about certain fruits to avoid to prevent tooth decay but could not find that thread. Could someone please help me find it?

Thanks a bunch.
Des

[WuWei]

Not sure, but here are foods which help to heal cavities.

Adding whole foods will optimize nutrient density and bioavailablity.
Unless the supplement is made from whole foods, the majority is just
peed out. Also, synthetic vitamins in disproportionate ratios can be
unhealthy. Check the "World's Healthiest Foods" site for nutrient
dense food choices. http://www.whfoods.com/foodstoc.php

Foods that heal teeth:

* Feed your child every meal a soup of blended greens or softly
cooked vegetables.
* Key Vegetables for soup:
* Kales (and lots of dark greens), Zucchini, Celery, Green Beans,
Potatoes
* Add copious amounts of seaweed when the broth is done and the
soup is cooler.
* Never discard the vegetable liquid, it contains numerous vitamins.
* Raw Grass Fed Butter
* Organic and raw yogurt, and kefir
* Raw Grass fed Goat and Cow Milk.
* Cod Liver Oil (must be taken with the raw butter)
* Lacto-Fermented Foods and Beverages to enhance digestion and
assimilation
* Finely mashed up proteins from - Eggs, Fish, Organ Meets, or
other meets (grass fed only please!)
* Bone broth such as fish or chicken soup broth
* Fresh or cooked fruits
* Soaked, and sprouted nuts finely ground
* Really Raw Honey (may be okay)
* Sprouted/ fermented grains, (only for children over 1.5 years)
* There are many herbs that can be cautiously used to provide
minerals to the teeth,
* These include Horsetail, lemon grass, red raspberry leaf,
nettle's, lemon balm.



Foods that remove minerals from body and cause tooth decay and general
depletion.

* Almost every kind of sugar, even organic, especially fruit juices
* Bread, wheat, cookies, crackers, cereals, grains, nuts, seeds, pasta's
* Peanut Butter
* Any processed baby food
* Soy or soy formula
* Pasteurized milk
* Dried Fruit
* Iodized salt � cheap processed salt.
* Non-organic animal products such as eggs, meat, chicken ect.



http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Tooth-Dec.../dp/1434810607
http://www.yourreturn.org/Articles/E...ries_Cured.htm

Healing Early Childhood Tooth Decay Naturally:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=529174&highlight=foods+hea\
\
\
l+teeth

http://www.westonaprice.org/traditio...ry_wisdom.html
http://www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/Articles/Rootcanal.htm




Pat

[reducereuserecycle]

what do you do with the water you cooked the vegetables with?

[reducereuserecycle]

bananas are acidic so my guess is that they may not be good for tooth enamel...but that is only a guess

[alegna]

In a child with no current dental issues, I can't imagine limiting fruit.

-Angela

[Carley]

Carbohydrates feed bacteria, so it's wise to consider all carbohydrates, especially those easily fermentable (fruit, grains, peanutbutter) potential cariogens. That doesn't mean you need to avoid fruits and grains (unless you do ) but that does mean you should be aware.

My daughter has "baby bottle mouth" from extended nighttime nursing (no kidding). We have to be very careful with her diet. She eats a low carbohydrate diet, raw dairy and we rinse her mouth after treats like fruit.

Be aware that any carbohydrate, even "Really Raw Honey" or other "Wholesome" carbs/sugars still feed the cariogenic bacteria.

[deditus]

Actually, bananas and apples are good for protecting teeth.

http://www.zellies.com/store.asp?pid=20372&catid=19708

[AaronsMommy]

Originally Posted by alegna

In a child with no current dental issues, I can't imagine limiting fruit.

-Angela

ITA! I think this would be true for kids who drink copious amount of pasteurized fruit juice. Whole fruits shouldn't be a problem, but if you are concerned, you could brush their teeth after they eat the fruit (without toothpaste or with flouride-free paste)

[Carley]

Fermentable carbohydrates feed the bacteria that cause tooth decay. Zellie's (a commercial site, not a dental health source) claim that "Bananas take away acidity" doesn't mean that bananas are not carbohydrate rich and starchy = feeds bacteria that causes tooth decay.

You can minimize the effects of carbohydrate rich foods by combining them with protein/dairy and rinsing your child's mouth after eating.

We minimize carbohydrates from sources other than vegetables because my family has dental issues.

If your kid doesn't have any dental issues yet, it's still a good idea to practice good dental hygeine & rinse their mouths (or brush) after eating.

[Juvysen]

:

[organicmidwestmama]

i was raised vegetaian and given tons of apple cider (not pasturized but still refined juice, not a whole food) and had 25 caries by age 5. it sucked and has affected me my whole life, i have dealt with lots of cavities since then as well and feel it is due to my early child hood diet that was low in minerals from meat and high in fruit sugar.

[WuWei]

Toothbrushing myths
This issue comes upoften, here are a few old posts and info about toothbrushing. There is also inf. in the Dental forum about Curing Cavities with Nutrition

You can read Weston Price's chapter on controlling decay (and the rest of his groundbreaking book "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration")
http://www.soilandhealth.org/02/0203...ppnf/PPNF.HTML


Foods which heal tooth decay:
http://www.amazon.com/Cure-Tooth-Dec.../dp/1434810607
http://www.yourreturn.org/Articles/E...ries_Cured.htm

Healing Early Childhood Tooth Decay Naturally:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=529174&highlight=foods+hea\
l+teeth

http://www.westonaprice.org/traditio...ry_wisdom.html
http://www.ppnf.org/catalog/ppnf/Articles/Rootcanal.htm


The Invisible Toothbrush
By Emmanuel Cheraskin, MD, DMD

Quote:
One of the many risk factors for heart disease is poor dental health. The root cause for both diseases is probably the same—nutritional deficiencies, including deficiency of vitamin C. In this article, Dr. Emmanuel Cheraskin presents evidence that serum vitamin C levels are just as important as brushing for the prevention of tooth decay. His research also explains why primitive peoples on nutrient-dense diets have no tooth decay, in spite of the fact that they do not brush their teeth.

http://www.westonaprice.org/healthissues/toothbrush.html
Well, ds doesn't consume a lot of sugar and he does brush, and still had a ton of cavities. And I had a ton of cavities as a child. I have a mouth full of mercury fillings. Dh had his very first cavity, an itsy-bitsy one, at age 40. I believe that there are very many variables. The worst culprit that I have learned is providing chewable Vitamin C tablets which are severely acidic and destructive to tooth enamel. Ds loved them! We also used sippy cups beyond a very early age for spill-proof benefits. (still do) Apparently, this contributes to maintaining an acid oral flora. When one drinks juice or milk in a single sitting, the natural flora rinses the teeth to a more proper
pH.

We didn't brush at bedtime consistently. Rather we brushed throughout the day. Apparently bedtime brushing is more efficient due to the decreased saliva production at night. My own lack of nighttime brushing apparently increased the bacterial counts (strep mutans the specific bacteria that causes cavities in the presence of acidity); but *I* haven't any additional cavities. We didn't use Xylitol products. We do now. And specifically the mother's use of xylitol products prenatally decreases cavity production in the child's teeth up to one year subsequently. Essential fatty acids and vitamin A in the prenatal and postnatal diet (breastfeeding) are huge variables. I had these.

Reading on the VeryYoungKidsTeeth site will convince anyone that sugar and brushing are NOT the issues to cavity development.
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group...oungkidsteeth/ There are many very restrictive parents there who severely limit simple sugar foods and brush their children's teeth religiously twice a day (many forcefully). And their VERY young children still have developed extensive dental caries. A mother sharing utensils and foods with the child increases the oral bacteria count passed to the child. We didn't do this either. So, the main issue that I can discern is the chewable Vitamin C destroying the tooth enamel and led to decay.


http://www.dentalgentlecare.com/trident_research.htm

http://yourreturn.blogspot.com/2005/...rstanding.html


Apples, carrots, celery and other crunchy fruits and veggies help to clean plaque off of teeth, and cheddar cheese helps to change (I think) the pH balance in the mouth so that plaque is less likely to form. You could just plan on keeping small snack plates of these available and out much of the time.

Rinsing with water after eating, especially after eating sugar, will help reduce the formation of plaque. Again, have a favorite water bottle or cup with water available where he is -- in front of the TV, in his room, whatever. Then it's easy to reach when he wants it, and it's no big deal if he doesn't.

There are some great kids' books that really explain what plaque is and how it works, on the bacterial level -- the scientific information. If you don't already have them, buy one or two of those books and just have them in your book collection -- that way the information is available as she happens upon it.

There are lots of different toothbrushes (including the electric/rotating toothbrushes), toothpastes, and mouthwash/rinse products out there that kids can try. There are also different gums that can help clean the teeth, and those Listermint papers kill some germs, too This doesn't have to be a big deal, but when you go shopping together, you can just let him pick out some of these things that look fun to him, and that way you'll have an assortment of different things at home.

texture and taste of the toothpastes -- I think the activity itself just raises a *lot* of sensory issues for a lot of kids. At that age, when their mouth is still so related to pleasure and comfort and taste of food, it can feel very violating to put something relatively large and hard and prickly in there. I think as parents we can *start* the conversation there -- validating that it can be really unpleasant to do this thing.

One other thing you could try is, instead of using a toothbrush, use a wet washcloth with toothpaste, pushed over his teeth by one finger. It might feel gentler and more in control.


Pat