You may have already made dietary changes in your household because you are concerned about your child's dental health. However, in addition to the foods that he or she eats, the drinks that your child consumes can also have an impact on his or her dental health. 

Acidic drinks, such as soda, which most kids favor, can cause tooth enamel to weaken. One study indicates that when tooth enamel is soaked in soda, it loses about five percent of its weight in a 48-hour period. Nevertheless, there are some drinks that can improve your child's oral health. Here are two of them:

Tea

Drinking tea can help prevent tooth decay. Tea has antibacterial properties that cause it to decrease the number of harmful oral bacteria in your child's mouth. Much of tooth decay results from acid that is produced by oral microbes. When bacteria consume carbohydrates in your youngster's mouth, they release acid as a byproduct of glycolysis, which is their digestive process. When acid is released, it demineralizes tooth enamel, which weakens it.

Tea kills the bacteria in your child's mouth. Less bacteria produce less decay-causing acid. To help your child take advantage of the oral health benefits of drinking tea, you should give him or her at least 3 or 4 cups per day. This can easily be accomplished by simply substituting tea for your youngster's normal beverages at mealtime.

Water

Many people know that drinking water is beneficial to a child's physical health overall. However, water can also be beneficial to a little one's teeth and gums. 

Water helps prevent dry mouth, which is associated with more tooth decay, because there is not enough saliva to rinse away bacteria and plaque. In addition, saliva dilutes the acid in your child's mouth. Water, when drunken frequently, can help ensure that bacteria and other harmful are washed from your youngster's teeth. 

In addition, if tap water is used, it may contain fluoride, which helps attract calcium and phosphate back to the surface of the tooth enamel to form a compound that is actually harder than your child's original tooth material. This effect can help ensure that weakened areas of his or her enamel are rebuilt. Also fluoride makes oral bacteria more sensitive to acid. This can lower the number of bacteria in your child's mouth.

If you would like to learn more ways to protect your child's oral health, consult with a pediatric dentist in your area. He or she can assess the current state of your little one's mouth and prescribe effective treatment options to protect and improve the health of his or her teeth and gums.

For a pediatric dentist, contact a clinic such as Apollo Dental Center.