How To Pack A Lunch That Promotes Oral Health?

CLINICAL CONTENT WRITTEN & REVIEWED BY CLOVE CLINICAL TEAM

Last Modified: July 4, 2022

FACT CHECKED

As a parent, you always find yourself trying to balance healthy and tasty food for your kids. Obviously, you cannot stop your child from eating sweets or cakes, but you can definitely use some tips from the dental experts for packing lunch for oral health.

Promoting your kid’s oral health is the first step to keeping their overall health in check. With a few changes in their everyday meal, you can promote a healthy mouth. Here are some tips on packing a good lunch that your child will love to eat.

Packing a Lunch For Oral Health

Needless to say that one of the most satisfying moments for a parent is to see their child’s lunch box empty. Here are some tried and tested ways to spruce up your child’s meal box to keep your child’s oral health in check and keep their teeth cavity-free.

Switch to Healthy Granola Bars

It might surprise you, but what you think is a healthy and energy-filled bar is filled with sticky sugar. The oats, cereal, and nuts-filled bar do have some nutritional elements, but it is not ideal for your child’s milk teeth. The dried fruit in the bar and the chocolate sticks to teeth promote the growth of bad bacteria, causing demineralization of the enamel of the tooth cavities.

Instead, give them granola bars or health cereals with zero sugar and high fibre. Check the fibre content of the bar and go for the one that has higher. Don’t opt for the chocolate-covered bars filled with chewy fruits.

Steer Clear of the Sugary or fizzy Drinks

Giving your child a bottle filled with Tang or Rasna can surely make them feel fresh but also affects their teeth. Drinking liquids filled with sugar or the carbonated ones can erode the enamel on their teeth, making the teeth susceptible to bacteria (specifically Streptococcus mutans).

Instead, give them unsweetened juice, buttermilk, or natural coconut water as a healthy substitute that does not harm the teeth and goes well with all the meals.

Pack lots of Fibrous Fruits and Salad

Add fibre-rich foods like raw fruits, salad, and vegetables rather than giving packaged or starchy chips in a child’s meal. You can add strawberries, cucumber, carrots, apples, broccoli, or mushrooms to ensure that you are giving your child the proper lunch for oral health. Eating fibrous things will keep your child’s teeth clean, make them strong, and will help them avoid unnecessary sugar.

Include a handful of Nuts

When giving your child a snack, you prefer adding a pack of biscuits or a packet of chocos or cake. These foods may fill the stomach, but they also affect oral health as the sugar gets stuck to the pits and fissures of the teeth and causes decay.

Packing nuts like almonds, cashew, and raisins, will help keep their teeth clean and keep them from eating the sweets afterwards.

Don’t forget the water bottle

Water can wash everything away, including the sticky sugar film on the teeth. Make sure that you give them a bottle of water so that they can keep on sipping onto it. However, do not choose flavoured water or any sweetened water because it will have sugar and ultimately lead to tooth decay.

Let them Chew on Cheese

Cheese is a miracle food that the kids love, and it also promotes good oral health. It is high in fat and contains calcium that can keep the enamel of the teeth healthy and balances the mouth’s pH level. Eating cheese also encourages saliva production, which washes away plaque and bacteria and keeps the teeth clean. You can also pair them with vegetables, use them in a salad, or put them as a filling.

Dietary Oral Health Tips For Your Child Oral Health

Food is the main contributor to promoting or deteriorating oral health. The responsibility of keeping their child’s teeth healthy lies on the parents, and the first step in doing so is to inculcate healthy eating habits. Giving them a healthy lunch and protecting their teeth can greatly impact their oral health.

You can get in touch with the expert pedodontists at Clove to know more about oral health tips for your child. Remember, healthy primary teeth are the foundation of healthy permanent teeth.

Book an appointment at your nearest Clove Dental Clinic now.