7 year old son had 7 teeth removed:-(

[leannelj85]

Hi all,

I’m looking for advice with my 7 year old sons teeth.

He’s had to have 7 teeth out recently and I’m ashamed and embarrassed that his teeth got so bad!

He is being assessed for ADHD and it’s a battle to get him to brush his teeth morning and night. I also have been letting him have sugary stuff way to much. I need to really look at what I’m feeding my children as I want to give them a healthy attitude to food but I really struggle with this. I’ve had an eating disorder most of my adult like so I’m not great around food myself.

I’m looking for healthy snack ideas for my children, I want to learn more about healthy foods for children but I don’t know where to start!

Any ideas or recommendations would be great! Or even a list of what your little ones eat a day. My children are 7 and 1.

I know I’ve let my children down giving them these bad foods but I really want to change. 😞

Many thanks x

NHS has really good resources online. My kids have been having too much sugar. We have a rule now of one sugar/sweet item a day. Look out for hidden sugar in cereals, peanut butter, beans and ketchup. Dried dried as a snack eg organix bars, naked bars and raisins are awful for teeth.

What are they having at the moment, that would help to suggest alternatives?

Hi, one of my kids had 4 teeth out at 5/6. I did feel bad. It was definitely because of sweets like haribo, so I stopped that immediately. She now has healthy adult teeth.
Get advice from your dentist. Does he brush properly? Maybe get an electric toothbrush? Decay is definitely worse with too much sugary snacks so try and only eat these after a meal. Try more savoury stuff like oatcakes and peanut butter. Good luck.

So, my dentist says most of the following which seems sensible…

If you are going to drink sugary drinks, drink with a straw - goes straight to the back of the mouth and less contact with teeth. Can you start watering DS’s drinks down a bit?

Drink water after you eat, particularly sugary snacks.

chocolate better than sweets as it doesn’t stick to your teeth as long.

if you’re having something sweet, have it quickly - have those sweets for dessert in a few minutes, not lingering over the course of a film. Think about how long the sugar is attacking the teeth for.

teeth brushing + diet + luck = dental health

fruit is not the healthy snack you think it is (at least for teeth). Can you do crackers and cheese spread, breadsticks, cucumber, etc.

can your DS use an electric toothbrush with a novelty themed head? Will that help?

my kids eat… a lot. And I’m not a massive healthy eating type. But teeth brushing is used as a “do this and then this can happen” (screen time, fun thing, extra story).

i hope you and DS can turn it around - can’t have been nice for you :(

Sorry to hear this. My advice would be to avoid sugary squash etc and stick to water or milk. Things like hummus and carrot sticks are good for snacks. Also avoiding too much snacking is a good idea- after you eat, bacteria attack your tooth enamel for about half an hour. So if a child is constantly snacking or sipping a sweet drink, their teeth are constantly under attack. Better to eat more at meals and leave gaps in between.

Maybe start with their drinks, if they have juice or fizzy drinks a lot switch to water. Or juice only at weekends as a treat.

Snacks that are less sugary:
Pitta/breadsticks and cucumber with hummus
crackers and cheese
Toast with butter. Marmite or cheese as a topping - not jam, honey etc
Nuts

Thanks everyone that’s really great advice. He really doesn’t drink sugary drinks it more treats that are a problem. He literally wants to eat all day long and I often give in (that stops now) he’s constantly saying he’s hungry! He really struggles when he goes somewhere else and they only have 3 meals a day he hates it. I know this has all been passed down by me and I’m going to have to change the way we are with food in the house. It’s will be hard but worth it.

he hates brushing his teeth. When I try to help he lashes out and I end up in tears. I’m determined to do better now though x

Oral health educator and Dental nurse here. Anything sugary needs to be limited to mealtimes only, no snacking on sugary things as this leads to constant acid attacks. Fizzy drinks on special occasions through a straw, plain water and milk at all other times.
It's the brushing that needs to be really worked on, having 7 teeth out at that age is very unusual but I appreciate ADHD can make this very challenging. Try and make it fun with YouTube toothbrush videos or get them to brush to their favourite song in front of the mirror. It is recommended that parents should still be supervising/ helping brushing up to age 8.

It's really hard to change habits, but consistency is key :)

Oh OP that must be so upsetting and well done for giving yourself a kick to make better choices. My DD HAAATES teeth brushing so I feel your pain!

Have you tried those little gummy things that turn their teeth purple so they then have to brush it all off? I loved doing that when I was little.

Def limit fruit juice and squash and use a straw. Fruit is ok as its the sugar is in a different form.

We love no added sugar angel delight for pudding, and jelly and the low fat spray cream.

For snacks we love things like cheesy muffins, crackers, hummus, pretzels, teddy faces, squashed blueberries and apple slices, crumpets and cucumber sticks, yoghurt, little mini sandwiches with cream cheese and ham or whatever you want to put in them really but use a cookie cutter to make them into little bite size shapes!

No drinks of milk right before bed.

If he constantly says he's hungry, offer some filling snacks - cheese, hummus with carrot sticks or whole grain crackers, cottage cheese on whole grain crackers, unsalted and unroasted nuts, whole wheat toast with natural peanut butter (read labels; don't buy PB with added sugar or any added oil or shortening).

Feeding sugary snacks means he has a sugar crash a while later and feels ravenous. Sugary snacks are not filling.

Avoid dried fruits (raisins, apricots, prunes, dates). They're both sugary and stucky.

two snacks a day are ok, so maybe mid morning and mid afternoon, or mid afternoon and suppertime?

good examples of non sugary snacks have been given. My ds likes a toasted wholemeal muffin.

Theres nothing inherently wrong with snacking but avoid sugary snacks between mealtimes. This includes everything with sugar in so cereal bars, flavoured yogurts etc. not just sweets/chocolate

Fruit is okay but not for every snack and better to have with something savoury and chewy like cheese. e.g. berries and yoghurt, apple + babybel. Avoid dried fruit between mealtimes.

Healthy snacks can be toast with peanut butter/hummus/cheese spread/marmite. Crackers. Veg sticks and dip, breadsticks, plain yoghurt with fruit, any form of cheese, boiled eggs, any form of veg obviously, nuts.

If they are having something sugary have it with mealtimes. Only water and milk at mealtimes. Try and limit the number of times they have sugar to 4x a day, your 3 meals + 1 other.

7 teeth is a lot of teeth, but its done now. Hopefully they are only baby teeth and hes going to get fresh healthy new teeth. At 7 you should still be brushing his teeth for him, he can do a brush but ensure you are going over as 7 is not old enough to have the dexterity to brush all their teeth well.

I feel for you OP, this is my worst nightmare.
My advice would be

• water and milk only for drinks, with fruit juice, smoothies etc for special occasions
• brush twice a day, you supervise or go back over them. Reward with screen time if necessary
• any snacks should be low sugar, eg cucumber, cheese
• sugar should be restricted to mealtimes

Thanks everyone for your advice I really appreciate it x I also appreciate the non judgment xxx

I really struggle with not having fruit for snacks. My two love fruit and will eat it all day long. They’re not so fussed about crackers and cheese etc.