Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2015 | Page 69

FASHION, HEALTH & BEAUTY Don’t suffer from dental decay According to the latest figures, a shocking one third of five year olds in the UK and half of eight year olds will have had dental decay - a completely preventable often painful disease, requiring fillings, crowns or even extractions under general anaesthetic. Y et the cause is avoidable; cereals can contain up to 40 per cent sugar, yet many of us feed our kids with these – why? Coke, Pepsi, fizzy, fruit juice and squash are loaded with both sugar and acid, and it’s easy to check out the sugar content (but not the acid) per 100ml on the back of the container. The sugar and acid get engrained within the sticky bacterial film on your kids’ teeth, which then attacks the enamel. But even when the decay has started, we can reverse it with special pastes, if you are prepared to revert to a more tooth-friendly diet. A bonus is this: because the same sugar load that kills teeth also predisposes to diabetes type 2, by avoiding the ‘refined’ foods and sugary drinks you will promote better general health too. One of the pastes which can re-harden and rebuild the lost tooth mineral is called ‘Tooth Mousse’ and is available in our practice for under £15 - a small price to avoid a lot of trauma. If you really want to take control and prevent tooth decay and its consequences in your child, visit a preventive dentist as soon as you are pregnant, for dietary advice both through the pregnancy and in baby’s first months and year. We are pleased to discuss looking after yo W"6