February is National Children’s Dental Health Month, an ideal time to promote the importance of oral health and increase awareness of how drinks with sugar contribute to tooth decay. Some parents don’t realize that many drinks they serve to young children contain natural or added sugar. Drinks with natural or added sugar are a major contributor to tooth decay.

Sugar plays a key role in tooth decay (see Brush Up on Oral Health newsletter, April 2013). Bacteria that cause tooth decay breaks down drinks with sugar to form acid. Each time a person consumes a drink with sugar or eats a starchy, chewy, or sticky food, acid is in the mouth for 20 to 40 minutes.

Source: Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center, National Center on Health

Available at: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/tta-system/health/docs/health-services-newsletter-201502.pdf