In England and Wales (and indeed in many Western countries), the food system continues to fail children.

Despite the hard work of campaigners including Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall, Jamie Oliver and Save Kids From Sugar, fruit juices and cereals describing themselves as “healthy” continue to cause tooth decay in children – the biggest threat to children’s teeth in 2024.

Decay – the biggest threat to children’s dental health

Tooth decay results in thousands of children being admitted to hospital every year for emergency extractions. It’s incredibly traumatic for kids to have to go through this at such a young age, and unsurprisingly, it results in them fostering a relationship with the dentist based on fear and anxiety.

“For the financial year 2022 and 2023, there were 47,581 episodes of tooth extractions in NHS hospitals for 0 to 19 year olds. There were 31,165 episodes of tooth extractions with a primary diagnosis of tooth decay for 0 to 19-year-olds. This represents 66% of all tooth extractions for this age group”. 8 Feb 2024 Gov.UK

As children’s teeth have a thinner enamel layer to protect the weaker dentine structure underneath, decay can access the dentine and inner parts of the tooth (where the living tissues live) much faster than is the case with an adult tooth. With this in mind, it’s important to prioritise doing everything possible to lower their risk of decay – here’s how.

How to reduce your child’s risk of tooth decay

Use FREE apps like Yuka to see the real nutritional values of food and drink

Using an app like Yuka to instantly see the nutritional value of certain products is a great way to make sure you’re making the best decisions for your child’s diet.

Using Yuka (a free app) you simply scan a product and it will give you the sugar content, along with a harm value out of 100 (the lower the rating, the more nutritionally bankrupt the product!).

What’s more, it will even produce an analysis of the harmful preservatives present, including E numbers, which have been clinically proven time and time again to increase the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Make sure they never miss a dentist check-up

As children’s teeth develop, they require 6-monthly check-ups, as problems can be fast-developing at this age. During their dental check-ups, your child’s dentist can help parents nip dental issues in the bud, by identifying decay early and before it has a chance to rot the tooth altogether.

Dentists totally appreciate how hard it can be for parents to motivate children to brush and eat a healthy diet low in sugar – the struggle is real! Use your dentist as a source of inspiration and guidance where this is concerned – they’ll be able to offer tips and tricks to encourage kids to take pride in brushing their teeth and limiting their intake of unhealthy foods.

Get them involved in prepping and cooking meals

Asking your child to help you prepare meals to give them a chance to handle fruit and vegetables so that they don’t become something to fear. This will also instil the sense of pride that comes with creating something tangible that has come from their creativity and labour.

Why not try getting them involved in cooking a vegetable-rich meal two days a week, and reward them with something sugar for dessert? Introducing the notion that sugary foods are something of a special treat early will help them implement the same philosophy in their adult lives (as opposed to sugary foods being an anytime thing).

Ask a dentist for advice on caring for your child’s teeth

At Nova Smiles, our dentists Dr Zaeem Jafri and Dr Alice Jamison are on hand to answer your concerns and questions about looking after your child’s teeth.

Please don’t hesitate to contact us (free of charge) for advice - you don’t get a second chance at preventing a tooth requiring an extraction due to decay, so we encourage you to contact us if you need some professional, non-judgmental guidance.