You may recall our last trip to the dentist. http://somerosaga.blogspot.com/2009/04/do-i-have-teenager-on-my-hands.html To add to that, the dentist was rather undesirable. So, thankfully we have a dentist friend (who I should have gone to the first time, but it was too long to wait, as I wanted an appt. that week). Anyhow, I saw this friend at our camp out, and was reminded again to get my boys in for a checkup. The difference about this clinic is that the parents don't go back in with the kids. I was hesitant about that, but she (the dentist friend K) said that kids do great with it.
When we got there, the boys waited patiently. When it came time to go back, Luke was called first. He went willingly, and let them do all their stuff. By the time James was called, he had lost his nerve. He had (mistakenly) thought he could go back when Luke did, so was afraid to go on his own. I then went back there with him, and he absolutely refused to do anything we wanted him to do. He finally opened his mouth, and she at least got a look in there. Everything looked fine, so we called it a day. He did proudly tell Daddy that he was "good" at the dentist so he got a toothbrush. Better luck next time.
I was asking K (the dentist) what the best prevention of cavities in kids is, since I don't care to have any more than I have to (neither boy had any, thankfully). She said, "without a doubt, eliminating sugar". Juices (sweetened or natural), sweets, candy, and especially those things with hidden sugars (breakfast cereals, peanut butter, chocolate milk, breads, condiments, mixes (pancake, cornbread) etc.) I can vouch for the chocolate milk (or strawberry, which is my kids favorite for rare occasions). When Luke was about 1, he had a small carton of chocolate milk for the first time at supper when we ate out one time. He bounced off the walls from then (about 5pm until 1am, non-stop) So, you can imagine what it does to older kids (the same only less noticeable, but still causes disobedience) I was appalled to hear a little boy from church tell me that he is the only kid in his kindergarten class that drinks white milk. Every other one drinks chocolate. No wonder they need Ritalin so they can sit still. Too much sugar!! (and too many ignorant parents!)
Not only is the sugar (of whatever variety) bad on the teeth, it's also bad from the inside out, which no amount of brushing and flossing can fix. In a book I'm reading called Nourishing Traditions (which I'll do a review of when I'm done), Sally Fallon states that "Last, but not least, sugar consumption is the cause of bone loss and dental decay. Tooth decay and bone loss occur when the precise ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood varies from the normal ratio of 4 parts phosphorus to 10 parts calcium. At this proportion, all blood calcium can be properly utilized. Dr. Melvin Page of Florida demonstrated in numerous studies that sugar consumption causes phosphorus levels to drop and calcium to rise. Calcium rises because it is pulled from the teeth and the bones. The drop in phosphorus hinders the absorption of this calcium, making it unusable and therefore toxic. Thus, sugar consumption causes tooth decay not because it promotes bacterial growth in the mouth, as most dentists believe, but because it alters the internal body chemistry. Orthodox nutritionists admit that sugar causes tooth decay, although they may be mistaken about just why this is so, but their warnings to avoid tooth decay by limiting sweets are disingenuous. Most people would be willing to pay the price for bad teeth as long as they did not have to stop eating sugar. After all, teeth can be repaired or replaced. But poor teeth are always the outward sign of other types of degeneration in the body, degeneration that cannot be repaired by mechanical means."
That tells me that not only teeth are being destroyed from the outside, but are weakened from the inside as well. I would have to vouch that in my own family that has been true. My parents both had horrible teeth. When I was growing up though, sugar was very limited in our house. My brother would get severe asthma if he ate any sugar (and I mean ANY), so the whole family went without. Out of us 4 kids, there were only 2 cavities by the time we had all left home, and one of those was under my brother's braces in a spot he couldn't brush!
Going without sugar is difficult to manage, since it is in almost everything you buy. But, the best way to avoid it is to make things from scratch. Avoid processed/packaged foods, and you eliminate the majority of sugars. Sugar is a wonderful preservative, so companies use it to increase shelf life. In a world where we want freshness, shouldn't we be avoiding "shelf life"? In most recipes (cookies, cakes, and other sweets) you can cut the sugar in half, and no one will notice. (try lowering it a bit each time you make it, and see how low you can go) There are many non-refined sugars out there too, which I intend to someday blog about, but have to gather sufficient info first. They are sugars still (so still spike blood sugar), but are good for using to avoid so much processing, and often have some health benefits, as opposed to none!
Another suggestion our dentist friend made was to chew Xylitol gum. She said that it changes the pH in your mouth which discourages bacteria growth. We can buy a brand called Spry at our health store, but Epic was also recommended (buy online). The regular gums at the store usually have some Xylitol in them, but not enough to be beneficial. (you need about 1 gm per day minimum, which is 1 piece) I've been keeping that in stock so when the kids want gum, they can chew something good for them. It's the same price as regular gum, and tastes the same too.
Anyways, there is our latest info from our trip to the dentist.
When we got there, the boys waited patiently. When it came time to go back, Luke was called first. He went willingly, and let them do all their stuff. By the time James was called, he had lost his nerve. He had (mistakenly) thought he could go back when Luke did, so was afraid to go on his own. I then went back there with him, and he absolutely refused to do anything we wanted him to do. He finally opened his mouth, and she at least got a look in there. Everything looked fine, so we called it a day. He did proudly tell Daddy that he was "good" at the dentist so he got a toothbrush. Better luck next time.
I was asking K (the dentist) what the best prevention of cavities in kids is, since I don't care to have any more than I have to (neither boy had any, thankfully). She said, "without a doubt, eliminating sugar". Juices (sweetened or natural), sweets, candy, and especially those things with hidden sugars (breakfast cereals, peanut butter, chocolate milk, breads, condiments, mixes (pancake, cornbread) etc.) I can vouch for the chocolate milk (or strawberry, which is my kids favorite for rare occasions). When Luke was about 1, he had a small carton of chocolate milk for the first time at supper when we ate out one time. He bounced off the walls from then (about 5pm until 1am, non-stop) So, you can imagine what it does to older kids (the same only less noticeable, but still causes disobedience) I was appalled to hear a little boy from church tell me that he is the only kid in his kindergarten class that drinks white milk. Every other one drinks chocolate. No wonder they need Ritalin so they can sit still. Too much sugar!! (and too many ignorant parents!)
Not only is the sugar (of whatever variety) bad on the teeth, it's also bad from the inside out, which no amount of brushing and flossing can fix. In a book I'm reading called Nourishing Traditions (which I'll do a review of when I'm done), Sally Fallon states that "Last, but not least, sugar consumption is the cause of bone loss and dental decay. Tooth decay and bone loss occur when the precise ratio of calcium to phosphorus in the blood varies from the normal ratio of 4 parts phosphorus to 10 parts calcium. At this proportion, all blood calcium can be properly utilized. Dr. Melvin Page of Florida demonstrated in numerous studies that sugar consumption causes phosphorus levels to drop and calcium to rise. Calcium rises because it is pulled from the teeth and the bones. The drop in phosphorus hinders the absorption of this calcium, making it unusable and therefore toxic. Thus, sugar consumption causes tooth decay not because it promotes bacterial growth in the mouth, as most dentists believe, but because it alters the internal body chemistry. Orthodox nutritionists admit that sugar causes tooth decay, although they may be mistaken about just why this is so, but their warnings to avoid tooth decay by limiting sweets are disingenuous. Most people would be willing to pay the price for bad teeth as long as they did not have to stop eating sugar. After all, teeth can be repaired or replaced. But poor teeth are always the outward sign of other types of degeneration in the body, degeneration that cannot be repaired by mechanical means."
That tells me that not only teeth are being destroyed from the outside, but are weakened from the inside as well. I would have to vouch that in my own family that has been true. My parents both had horrible teeth. When I was growing up though, sugar was very limited in our house. My brother would get severe asthma if he ate any sugar (and I mean ANY), so the whole family went without. Out of us 4 kids, there were only 2 cavities by the time we had all left home, and one of those was under my brother's braces in a spot he couldn't brush!
Going without sugar is difficult to manage, since it is in almost everything you buy. But, the best way to avoid it is to make things from scratch. Avoid processed/packaged foods, and you eliminate the majority of sugars. Sugar is a wonderful preservative, so companies use it to increase shelf life. In a world where we want freshness, shouldn't we be avoiding "shelf life"? In most recipes (cookies, cakes, and other sweets) you can cut the sugar in half, and no one will notice. (try lowering it a bit each time you make it, and see how low you can go) There are many non-refined sugars out there too, which I intend to someday blog about, but have to gather sufficient info first. They are sugars still (so still spike blood sugar), but are good for using to avoid so much processing, and often have some health benefits, as opposed to none!
Another suggestion our dentist friend made was to chew Xylitol gum. She said that it changes the pH in your mouth which discourages bacteria growth. We can buy a brand called Spry at our health store, but Epic was also recommended (buy online). The regular gums at the store usually have some Xylitol in them, but not enough to be beneficial. (you need about 1 gm per day minimum, which is 1 piece) I've been keeping that in stock so when the kids want gum, they can chew something good for them. It's the same price as regular gum, and tastes the same too.
Anyways, there is our latest info from our trip to the dentist.
