Encourage your child to drink tap water: it helps protect your children’s teeth from tooth decay and other dental issues. Learn about the oral health benefits of making this switch.
Children will drink almost anything that is flavored, sugary, or colored. But the best drink for their teeth is often just plain tap water. Although many families have switched from regularly drinking tap water to bottled water, your child may benefit from switching back to drinking simple tap water.
Tap water is a safe, convenient, and healthy way to protect your child’s teeth from decay and other harmful dental conditions. Water from the tap not only adequately hydrates your child, but also offers the benefits of fluoride to shield teeth from decay. You can rest assured that encouraging your child to drink tap water is an easy way to reap the benefits of fluoride in water.
Cleans Teeth
Whenever your child eats a meal or snack, small food particles end up trapped between the teeth and beneath the gum line. Bacteria feed on these particles, and then excrete acidic waste that eats through the enamel and beyond. Since brushing is not always possible after every bite of food, it is important to drink water to flush the particles away from the teeth and gums. When your child drinks tap water, the liquid washes the teeth and other oral structures without leaving a sticky layer of sugar behind, as is common with fruit juice and dairy drinks.
Hydrates
Throughout the day, the saliva in your child’s mouth washes away food particles and keeps the oral structures adequately hydrated. If your child fails to drink enough water, slight dehydration may set in and markedly reduce saliva production. Chronic dry mouth tends to dramatically increase the rate of tooth decay and can even disrupt the remineralization process, so it is important to keep your child adequately hydrated at all times. A dentist for children will tell you that tap water quickly and efficiently rehydrates the body to keep this problem at bay.
Strengthens
Although fluoride has received a bad rap, it is actually a completely safe and effective substance designed to protect teeth from the development of cavities. In fact, in both children and adults, the regular consumption of fluoride actively reduces cavity development by 25 percent. This effective oral health improvement agent goes directly to the calcium-rich teeth and bones to support their continued health through the years. Unlike bottled water, tap water has a precise level of fluoride that provides protection for teeth.
Creating a Dental Care Plan for Your Child
Although switching to tap water is a great start, your child needs an at-home and in-clinic oral healthcare routine established in order to maintain healthy teeth and gums. To establish the perfect dental care plan for your child, and for more tips to keep your child’s teeth healthy, contact Arkansas Family Dental. by calling 501-683-8886. When you make an appointment with a dentist, your child will receive the dental care and support needed for excellent oral health throughout life.
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