Son has had filling in tooth.....need ideas on low sugar breakfasts and snacks

[mindermummy]

My son has just had a filling at 8 years old, has been told by dentist he has weak teeth!!! I'm Deverstated I have got to 43 years of age with no fillings!!so I need some advice on snacks with no or low sugar to stop this happening again......also breakfast ideas, which cereals are low in sugar!?!?!many thanks.

I have weak teeth & no end of fillings, sigh. DH is another one in late 30s with no fillings I hate people like you two.
Do look for hidden sugars in foods, most people are unaware.

Ordinary corn flakes, rice snaps, special K types are as good as it gets unless you like Wheetabix weirdos. Bran flakes are higher in sugar. Plain porridge.

Does he eat a lot of dried fruit? That & orange juice are notorious. Snacks in general are bad, time away from any food or drink (except water) is best for teeth. Cleaning teeth straight after sugary food is generally advised, rinse with fluoridated mouthwash is good (look for a mild flavour one).

Porridge is low sugar. You could sweeten using low sugar jam or some of that sprinkle stuff that's very sweet but low sugar?

And savoury snacks are what we tend to go for - sticks of cheese, dairylea cheese dippers, packets of crisps for a treat.

And remember juice and other drinks - they are full of sugar. Can you persuade him to drink water or very dilute juice (or sugar free squash if you're not worried about the additives)?

I'm very lucky that he has always drank water and milk...(and milkshake) which I will now stop, only fruit juice with dinner, so I don't think that's too bad.its def the cereal in morning and snacks that I'm stuggling with, so thanks for all the ideas..... Keep em coming,,, thank u

sugar in cereal doesn't matter too much if he brushes his teeth soon after - maybe you could get him to rinse his mouth with water after he eats anything? when he does have fruit juice, he shouldn't brush his teeth for at least 30 mins afterwards (but rinsing his mouth would be good)

it's not possible to avoid sugars in foods altogether, & sweeteners have their own issues

Porridge is the favourite in our house - with a banana mashed in for sweetness.

Also 'eggy bread' - only takes a couple of minutes to soak stale bread in a beaten egg and then fry.

Cereals we have are - bran flakes (weirdly the children really like them!), cornflakes, weetabix and special K.

Snacks - rice cakes, cheese sticks, breadsticks

Puffed wheat and shredded wheat original don't have sugar.

Get him to drink juice through a straw to minimise contact with the teeth themselves.

I think you are supposed to wait 30 mins before brushing after sweets as otherwise you can damage the enamel by scrubbing when it's already vulnerable after the sugar. Eating cheese is supposed to neutralise mouth acid so maybe offer that at the end then do a thorough clean.

Mine are really into their boiled eggs for breakfast - not much hassle to do, low sugar, carbs and protein - what's not to love?

Huge sympathies. You sound as though you are doing everything you can so don't beat yourslef up. My middle DD has rubbish teeeth as I had to take lots of ABs when I was pregnant with her, so I do know where you are coming from.

Toast/plain bread with cheese and a glass of milk.

It is also good to eat a piece of cheese after sweets/cake/fruit.

Don't brush straight away after sweets/fruit/fruit juice either eat a piece of cheese or thoroughly rinse with water or wait for 30 minutes and then brush.

Combine all the 'baddies for teeth' in one snack time (e.g. fruit, fruit juice, sugary snacks) rather than spreading them out over the day. Unfortunately, most teachers don't understand that it is better for children to eat sweets and drink fruit juice first and then eat cheese sandwich at the end of lunch.

The dentist could also prescribe fluoride tablets if he is really concerned.

Thanks , will def do the cheese thing , I asked the dentist if there were any supplements .... He said no!!!

well fluoride is a bit iffy, because you need to know how much is in your water anyway (either naturally or as an additive) - it's possible to take too much & cause \link{http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dental_fluorosis\fluorosis}

using a small amount (pea size) of fluoride toothpaste, & swallowing it instead of rinsing & spitting, was advised at one time (dunno if it still is, will google)

\link{http://www.healthcentre.org.uk/dentistry/faqs-safe-swallow-toothpaste.html\no, it isn't!!!}

so don't do that

Thanks... So hard when u hear so many things from diff people!
My dentist had said to use adult toothpaste now and electric toothbrush

Special K is pretty high in sugar, 17% sugar, Rice Krispies are 10% sugar. Weetabix much lower at 4.4 and oatibix 3,2g/sugar per 100g. Porridge and ready brek have no added sugar. Other alternatives - toast, crumpets, bagels with spread and marmite, cream cheese or peanut butter.

IMHO though, everything nice is either high in sugar or high in salt. And best to eat any sweets/dried fruit all in one go with a meal, not picking at bits over a few hours.

apparently after age 8 the fluorosis thing isn't an issue so that's good, & adult toothpaste does have more fluoride in than children's, so that will help with his enamel

must say IME electric toothbrushes aren't as good as proper brushing by hand - with a medium brush with a small head - I brushed all my kids' teeth for them until they were at least 10 IIRC (will ask one of them!) & apart from one filling in one tooth which had poor enamel in DC4 (who is now 19), theirs are pretty good on the whole.

If you brush for your DS for a couple of years, & make sure he knows how to do it properly when he takes over, you can do without the faff of electric