Dr. Katie To explains that cavity risk comes from how often kids eat, not what they eat. Constant grazing keeps the mouth acidic, etching enamel so bacteria stick and cause cavities. Her fix: eat everything in a 30-minute window, then drink only water for two hours.
A lot of parents ask me, why does my kid keep having all these cavities? And I find that such an interesting question because people don't realize that how often you're eating matters much more than exactly what you're eating. I always tell parents, if your kid's eating a healthy diet, if they're grazing, meaning they're eating a little bit along and along every single moment of every hour of every day, you're going to have a really high acid environment. And even the teeth that have perfect enamel with no pitting or anything like that can get cavities because of the acid. The acid rises when you are eating food, it's for digestion, and that actually causes the enamel to pit. It gets this little acid-etched feeling and texture. And then what'll happen is the bacteria cling onto that and then they start a cavity. We find that kids, even if they're eating a healthy diet, should follow a specific pattern of eating and not exactly worry so much about what they're eating. Obviously, for parents, having a Pepsi and sipping on that all day is a lot worse than having tea that's sweet and all day long. But anything that's going to cause the acid to go up is not good. So we want to make sure that you eat in this following way: 30 minutes of food and drink. So you pile everything in that 30-minute window. And for parents that are new to this pattern, I always say set a timer when you start eating and just go for it. Have a fun time and enjoy your food, but Enjoyment of food also is such a thing that we can actually nourish our minds and bodies through that. And then just take a pause when that timer goes off, rinse with some water. You don't have to brush. In fact, we recommend that you don't brush for that first 30 minutes after you eat. Just drink some water, have your child swish, spit in the sink, and then just drink water for 2 hours. And while you're getting used to that pattern, again, set a timer. That really helps a lot. And you just do 30 minutes of food and drink, 2 hours of plain water, 30 minutes of food and drink, 2 hours of plain water. And you'll find that you can enjoy almost everything in the world that there is to eat without it having to affect your teeth. You can come see us. We'd love to see you here at Dr. Katie To's Center for Wellness Dentistry. We see kids and all the way up. I always say we see from 0 up to 100 and even beyond. We have some super seniors out there that come and see us too. Thanks a lot for listening. See you soon.
