What are healthy snacks?
Eating healthy and nutritious snacks are not only good for your overall health, but a few of of them can actually help your teeth while you are eating them! Eating raw fruits like apples, pears, pineapple and oranges are great examples of healthy fruits that are good for your teeth. Raw vegetables like broccoli, celery, carrots, cucumbers and tomatoes are also really good you and your teeth! Below are even more examples of healthy snacks but not necessarily great for your teeth which means always brush after eating them!
Fresh fruits and raw vegetables
- Oranges
- Grapefruit
- Melons
- Pineapple
- Pears
- Tangerines
- Broccoli
- Celery
- Carrots
- Cucumbers
- Tomatoes
- Unsweetened fruit and vegetable juices
- Canned fruits in natural juices
Grains
- Bread
- Plain bagels
- Unsweetened cereals Unbuttered popcorn
- Tortilla chips (baked, not fried) Pretzels (low-salt)
- Pasta
- Plain crackers
Milk and dairy products
- Low or non-fat milk
- Low or non-fat yogurt
- Low or non-fat cheese
- Low or non-fat cottage cheese
Meat, nuts and seeds
- Chicken
- Turkey
- Sliced meats
- Pumpkin seeds
- Sunflower seeds
- Nuts
Others
(these snacks combine foods from the different groups)
- Pizza
- Tacos
Remember to:
- Choose sugary foods less often
- Avoid sweets between meals
- Eat a variety of low or non-fat foods from the basic groups
- Brush your teeth with fluoride toothpaste after snacks and meals
Rudy Says…”Eating healthy snack are good for your teeth!“
What’s wrong with sugary snacks, anyway?
Sugary snacks taste so good — but they aren’t so good for your teeth or your body. The candies, cakes, cookies and other sugary foods that kids love to eat between meals can cause tooth decay. Some sugeray foods have a lot of fat in them, too. Kids who consume sugary snacks eat many different kinds of sugar every day, including table sugar (sucrose) and corn sweeteners (fructose). Starchy snacks can also break down into sugars once they’re in your mouth.
How do sugars attack your teeth?
Invisible germs called bacteria live in your mouth all the time. Some of these bacteria form a sticky material called plaque on the surface of the teeth. When you put sugar in your mouth, the bacteria in the plaque gobble up the sweet stuff and turn it into acids. These acids are powerful enough to dissolve the hard enamel that covers your teeth. That’s how cavities get started. If you don’t eat much sugar, the bacteria can’t produce as much of the acid that eats away enamel.
So eat healthy, and bring that beautiful smile of yours in on your next trip to Pediatric Dentistry West in Indianapolis!
