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How do I reduce my child's sugar intake to prevent tooth decay?.
A
- Do not put anything
sweet on dummies to get your child to sleep
- When weaning your baby
on solids try to offer savoury tastes rather than sweet tastes.
- If your child is still
having ‘a bottle’ only give them water or plain milk in the bottle.
This is because the sugary liquid can pool around the teeth for long periods
of time. If you want to give juices or squashes, do dilute them well and give
them to your child in a cup.
- Remember fizzy drinks,
squashes and natural fruit juices contain sugar and are acidic so try to limit
these to prevent tooth decay.
- If you do want to give
your child fizzy drinks, squashes or juices and they are old enough, give
them a straw to drink from. A straw helps the drink to go to the back of the
mouth and not pool around the teeth.
- As your child gets older,
remember you are in control of what food comes into the house. So don’t
buy sugary food and drinks that can tempt your child. If the sugary foods
are not in the house your child is less likely to crave them.
- Use reward systems such
as stickers, and other non food based treats to reward your child’s
good behaviors instead of sweets or biscuits.
- Try to use sugar-free
medicines.
- If your child is old
enough give them sugar free gum to chew after eating.
health visitor
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