Low sugar treats for 7 YO?

[Runner234]

My 7 YO has a condition caused by antibiotics which means that his teeth are very weak, we were at the dentist yesterday and she told me that we have got to be very careful giving him sugar as it could cause him many problems with his teeth.

Has anyone got any suggestions of any low sugar treats that we could give him so he doesn't feel like he's missing out on special occasions etc?

I'm taking it very seriously and don't want to risk giving him chocolate or anything so I'm just looking for suggestions that he would enjoy and see as a treat. Thank you.

Does he like savoury things? I'd be inclined to look towards crisps etc...but check sugar content first. Sweet things almost always contain sugar and if they don't then they're highly processed. Honey is not a substitute as it is also mostly made up of sugars which will rot teeth.

Chocolate would actually be better teeth wise than other sweets as it melts quickly and gets washed away. Chewy sweets, boiled sweets, etc are in contact with teeth for longer so are worse for teeth. Dried fruit is bad and crisps too a certain extent too as they can get stuck in the grooves of the back teeth

Crisps are quite high in sugar surprisingly.

I would ask your dentist about dental sealants. You have to pay but it would be an extra layer of protection against cavities and I think it's hugely worth it.

You can get sugar-free gummy sweets meant for diabetics, just be careful of quantity as they have a laxative effect if too many are consumed at once.

Diet drinks instead of full sugar could be a treat.

If you're worried about the sugar context then really there's not much for 'treats'!

My son rarely has chocolate etc as that's regarded as a treat.

Breakfast: cereal/toast, yogurt and fruit
Lunchbox: Ham wrap, carrots, cucumber, crisps, raisins, perhaps a biscuit, fruit.
Dinner: whatever we have having, fish, meat, veggies etc and pudding might be fruit, yogurt etc.

The only hard thing is at birthday parties! But that's really a rarity and so I don't mind so much. I'm also very particular when it comes to teeth etc so I worry about his and even more so now adult ones are coming through.

No squash or fruit drinks, milk and water instead.

Maybe make a fruit salad on a Sunday evening?

I mean fruit etc is still sugary. It's difficult really!! X

Also as someone else has said, my son had recently had sealant on his back teeth. I think it cost £50? So not bad in the grand scheme of things.

What's wrong with toast with butter, natural yoghurt and vegetables and dips? Don't worry about stuff getting stuck in teeth, that's what happens when you eat, you just have to get him to brush well afterwards

I was brought up refined sugar free and the sorts of treats we had were
Diabetic sweets like pp mentioned
Pure fruit juice jelly with soft fruits in. V easy to make, it drives me mad people prefer to make horrible artificial jelly from a packet with no fruit inside! You can make interesting colours, patterns etc in the jelly
Homemade ice cream - emphasise the creamy aspect of the treat rather than the sweet. Double cream whipped with a lightly honey sweetened fruit coulis folded in. Or make little ice cream poles / lollies for easily grabbable treats
Frozen bananas! Take a good ripe banana, remove skin, freeze. A natural delicious ice cream pop. You can blend these down with a splash of milk and any other flavourings, vanilla, strawberries or cocoa powder for a surprisingly delicious ice cream substitute.
Banana milkshake made from either fresh or frozen banana and milk blended together

I also used to microwave mini potatoes and pile them with cheese as a treaty snack

Oat cakes, rice cakes as well as crisps.

But above all I'd say talk to experts. IME MN can be slightly odd about sugar, so take the responses you get with a huge pinch of salt. Especially the ones declaring slices of raw sweet apple are just the same as boiled sweets. They're not.

Milkybar wowsomes aren't too bad. You can find low sugar cake recipes on the Internet. Crisps are the absolute worst for teeth because they get stuck in them and feed the bacteria. Raisins are also bad for that reason.

Oh and we had tons and tons of homemade biscuits! My clever mum basically used chopped dates in place of sugar. It works well for most things
I invented a lovely shortbread which uses honey instead of sugar, and much less of it. I don't have a recipe I'm afraid, I just do it by eye. I often add ground nuts into the mixture, they have a mild natural sweetness

And nuts! Plain, salted, dry roasted. All a delicious and fairly healthy treat

And bombay mix. Can't believe I forgot that! Want some now

YY it's refined sugar which is especially bad for teeth. Fruit sugar isn't so bad with the exception of dried fruits which can get stuck and so sit on the teeth for longer.

I also refer to salty things as treats for DS2 because he's little so his diet is quite salt restricted. The other day I made him mash with cheese and gravy and called it a treat :o Poor deprived child

Experiment with home baking. Some people are good with using stevia instead of sugar or reducing just the amount used.

Plain Joghurt with fruit purée and fresh fruit

Fresh fruit smoothies, milk shakes, homemade ice cream as PP suggested.

There is a sugar free jam brand around, I think a French brand but can’t remember the name, tall slim jars.

When DD had her retainers we were told to restrict sweet stuff to mealtimes, wait around 15 minutes then rinse with water and then brushing teeth as the toothpaste would brush any sugar remains into the teeth.

I heard Stevia also rots teeth.

Presuming you mean fun, not nutritious sweets then Ice pops! Sugar free lollipops (chuppa chups do them), most slush puppies, sugar free jelly, sugar free pop, maybe bubblegum? You can get sugar free gummy bears etc but I think they have laxative effects for most. Crisps are a not great, they get stuck in teeth and then break down to sugar.

Sugar free sweets are full of horrendous additives.

Crisps are terrible for teeth, high sugar and get stuck in the teeth. Crisps have been blamed for the rise in middle class tooth decay lol.

Nuts? The key is to actually reduce snacking, the more often teeth are "attacked" the more damaging it'll be, so perhaps reserve fruit and sweet treats to meal times.

Fruit can be even worse for teeth because the very high sugar content is matched with acidity, which weakens enamel.

Breakfast cereals, sweetened yogurt, raisins: all very high in sugar.

OP: I think you should take advice from your dentist or credible dental care websites (run by dentists).

I think avoid fruit juice, raisins, chewy sweets, , fizzy drinks and fruit teas, have also heard the crisp thing a few times too. A pudding straight after a meal might be ok. I think xylitol is supposed to be good for teeth so some sugar free gum and a drink of water might help after the pudding. The thing to avoid is frequent contact with sugar on teeth - so eating a packet of sweets slowly over the day would be much worse than a small bar of chocolate straight after diner.

Agree with @TheRedBarrows, you are getting some rather poor advice on here. Best to get advice from the professionals.

yumyum is right though about the evidence that xylitol is supposed to be good for teeth. Careful if you have a dog though as it is absolute poison to them.

I have a cousin with type 1 diabetes. When we were kids and she was visiting, my mum would give her frozen grapes.

Crisps are terrible for teeth, high sugar and get stuck in the teeth. Crisps have been blamed for the rise in middle class tooth decay lol.

I did not know this! I always thought crisps were better than sweets! Bother.

Pots of Hartley's sugar free jelly.

A lot of the sugar free things contain sucralose. I'm assuming from the name it is chemically similar to sucrose and therefore probably bad for teeth. Anyone know?

Im posting as mine seem to be particularly susceptible to fillings despite brushing 2 x day and mouthwash...

I am mortified but will read up for ideas. Also interested in sealant. I asked if there was anything else we could do and they didnt offer that...

@BlueSkiesLies I know, it's hugely disappointing 😭

@soundofsilence "I have a cousin with type 1 diabetes. When we were kids and she was visiting, my mum would give her frozen grapes."

That would absolute not be the advice now. Apart from the choking risk, 20 grapes has almost as much sugar as a packet of harribo, so, unless only having a very small portion, the person with type one would probably need to take some insulin for them. They are quite a "spiky" food.