Healthy Drinking Habits Start Young

When our children are young, it is important to instill many important habits. We teach them to say “please” and “thank you,” to wash their hands after going to the bathroom, not to talk to strangers, and fire safety. But do we do a good enough job instilling habits of drinking for their health, both physical and dental? Many of us are a little too lenient in this area, probably because the hectic ways of life force us to find some type of easy choices. And while soft drinks or other sugary fruit drinks can often times be simple, they are not the habits we need our young children to pick up, rather they should be drinking plenty of safe water to protect their dental health. Protecting dental health may also mean investing in a water purifier to protect your drinking water quality at the same time.
Each February, the American Dental Association sponsors a month named National Children’s Dental Health Month to raise awareness about the importance of oral health. NCDHM messages and materials have reached millions of people in communities across the country. As they explain, “developing good habits at an early age and scheduling regular dental visits helps children get a good start on a lifetime of healthy teeth and gums.” In fact, soft drink consumption is one of several leading causes of tooth decay. Carbonation, sugar and acids in soft drinks weaken tooth enamel and encourage the growth of bacteria that contribute to tooth decay. Furthermore, sugar in soda combines with bacteria in your mouth to form acid and this acid, plus the extra acid from soft drinks, attacks the teeth. Each acid attack lasts about 20 minutes, and acid attacks start over again with every sip. Constant acid erosion weakens enamel and weakened enamel causes cavities.
Again, dental health is essential to overall health. Good dental health improves a person’s ability to speak, smile, smell, taste, touch, chew, swallow, and make facial expressions to show feelings and emotions. One of the best things you can do for your child according to the American Dental Association is to instill the habit of drinking water as part of a healthy diet and routine to support good dental health. But when we drink more water from the sink, we also run the risk of drinking more water which could be contaminated. In this case, we recommend our water filters and drinking water systems which effectively and efficiently reduce harmful contaminants right from the tap. Kids these days need to drink more water, plain and simple, but as a parent, we need to make sure the water is safer and great-tasting. So this National Children’s Dental Health Month, invest in a drinking water system which will have your kids wanting to drink more water… better water and start instilling healthy drinking habits which they will continue for a lifetime.