Eating/Drinking Habits

Encourage positive eating/drinking habits:

• Avoiding juice and beverages with added sugar
• Discontinuing bottle feeding at 1 year of age
• Placing only plain water in bottles and sippy cups between meals and at bedtime
• Snacking infrequently
• Eating fewer cariogenic/calorie-dense foods

These habits are the same as those recommended for obesity prevention.

Avoid these habits:

• Continual Bottle/Sippy Cup Use. Continuous sipping of beverages containing any amount of sugar (juice, soda, water with “flavoring juice” added, milk, etc) increases the risk of caries. The frequent intake of sugar does not allow adequate time for the acid produced by the bacteria consuming it to be neutralized or washed away by saliva.
• Frequent Snacking. Children who snack frequently are at an increased risk of caries. The pathophysiology is the same as with sippy cups and bottles. Reducing frequent snacking and choosing healthy snacks such as cheese, vegetables, and fresh fruit is helpful.