You love your kids and it’s likely that you do everything possible to make the right decisions when it comes to what you feed them. You want to keep all parts of them healthy, including their teeth. Unfortunately, there are four foods that are secretly working against your wishes and causing your children’s cavities.

Citrus

The acid found in many fruits and drinks can slowly eat away at the enamel of your children’s teeth. When citrus is consumed in large quantities, it can be extremely bad for teeth. This problem gets exponentially worse when the citrus drinks your children are consuming contain a sugar compound. You may be surprised at how many of the commercial citrus drinks that are touted as healthy for your children contain these unwanted sugars that can be damaging to your children’s teeth.

Sticky Foods

While foods like raisins may seem like a nutritious choice for your children, it’s important to note their long-term effects when eaten. Dried foods like apricots and raisins have naturally occurring sugars inside of them. These sugars react with the bacteria in your children’s mouth and create a dried acid. This can be extremely harmful when stuck to the teeth for long periods of time. Most children’s dentists will not advise against these foods. Rather, they’ll recommend regular brushing after eating them.

Fizzy Drinks

Soda is not the only problem. Fizzy drinks like sparkling water and energy drinks can cause enamel damage to your children’s teeth. The carbonation in these drinks creates a chemical reaction in the mouth. Carbon dioxide is turned into carbonic acid. This acid actually erodes the teeth. Watch out as some of these drinks can also contain high levels of citrus, which you’ve already learned can be harmful.

Crackers

This one may surprise you a bit. Crackers are a carb-rich snack that has sugars which breakdown in the mouth. These sugars will then produce acid that dissolves the tooth enamel. This acid damage usually sticks around for about half an hour after eating crackers unless your child brushes immediately afterward.

As you can see, there are a number of foods that are secretly causing harm to your children’s teeth. While you may be used to brushing in the morning and at night, it’s a good idea to get your child in the habit of brushing after each meal. This will help to ensure that the remnants of the above foods are not left to decay the tooth enamel.