Roanoke Nutrition Counselor

Nutrition Counselor in Roanoke

We’re all familiar with the saying “you are what you eat” and that applies to your smile, too. Just like a well-balanced diet is essential to a healthy body, it’s crucial to keeping a healthy smile, too.

Your Roanoke pediatric dentist probably sees your child on a more regular schedule than their pediatrician – children typically have an annual physical with the pediatrician but twice-yearly checkups with us. That means we can be on the front lines of their overall health. Dental health issues can lead to overall health issues.

Healthy eating habits lead to healthy teeth. Children should eat a variety of foods from the major food groups and drink plenty of water. Nutrition counseling is part of our preventive care to help children grow with healthy, strong smiles.

Roanoke Nutrition Counseling for Healthy Smiles

Nutrition counseling for the development of healthy smiles should begin during pregnancy. It is crucial that mothers eat diets with the ideal amounts of protein, vitamins, calcium, and phosphorus to help the baby’s teeth form properly.

It is important to promote good eating habits for your children as they grow. We can help you choose the best foods for your children and their developing smiles. The earlier your child begins healthy eating habits, the easier it will be to continue them. And healthy eating means healthy teeth. Your child will be less susceptible to cavities.

Working together, we can analyze your child’s diet and then recommend ways to reduce the risk of dental or health issues. We can recommend certain types of food to add to the diet, or foods to cut down on.

Foods that are too sugary or full of carbohydrates can be especially hard on a child’s developing smile. These types of foods, including chips, cakes, and cookies, should be limited. These types of foods tend to adhere to the teeth for longer periods of time before they are brushed away, allowing them to interact with the bacteria in our mouths, increasing the risk of decay setting in. In addition to that, they have little to no nutritional value, so they should be eaten in moderation.

We know children love to snack, but the more times your child eats during the day, even if it is just a little snack, the more chances there are for food debris to interact with the bacteria in the mouth. The more frequently a child snacks, the higher the risk of tooth decay.

If your child snacks focus on providing tooth-healthy foods. Foods rich in calcium, such as cheese or yogurt, are excellent options, as are crunchy fruits and vegetables. Raw, crunchy fruits and vegetables contain a lot of water, and chewing them creates plenty of salivae to help wash away the bacteria and food debris.

It is also important to limit the sugary beverages your child consumes. Juices, sodas, and sports drinks all have high sugar content so they should be consumed in moderation. Water is always the best choice.

Healthiest foods for your child’s teeth:

• Fiber-rich foods help keep the teeth and gums clean and help produce plenty of salivae, which not only helps to wash away food debris and bacteria but can also help to restore minerals to your teeth that acid has tried to remove.
• Dairy products such as cheese, milk, and plain yogurt contain calcium that can help keep your enamel strong and healthy. Cheese is one of the healthiest foods for your smile because it also contains casein, which can fortify tooth enamel, and phosphate, which can help balance the pH levels of the mouth and preserve tooth enamel. Besides water, milk is the best drink because it can help lower the acid levels in the mouth.
• Crunchy vegetables such as carrots and celery can help clean the surface of the teeth. Vegetables that are high in water content can stimulate the production of saliva, which will rinse away food debris and bacteria. The crunchy and fibrous texture of celery works as a natural tooth cleaner. When eating carrots, the vitamins and minerals found in them combine with your saliva to wash away harmful debris and bacteria.
• Nuts can contain important vitamins and minerals, such as calcium, phosphorus, vitamin D, vitamin E, and fiber, among others that are beneficial to healthy teeth and gums.

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