Eating for Teeth

If the picture of the 3-year-old whose front teeth had rotted away was not enough to get your attention, perhaps Dr. Jonathan Shenkin’s observation that it is not uncommon for him to see young children who have decay in all of their teeth caused you to drop your spoon into the cereal bowl. That is, if you were eating breakfast.

Dr. Shenkin, a Bangor dentist, and five colleagues around the country reviewed data collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention involving more than 4,000 children nationwide to determine the tie between tooth decay and eating breakfast. What they found is that children between 2 and 5 who skip breakfast are four times more likely to develop tooth decay than those who don’t. Their findings were recently published in the Journal of the American Dental Association.

It is well documented that children from low-income families are more likely to experience more tooth decay. This study, however, found that even children from higher socioeconomic classes had more tooth decay if they didn’t eat breakfast or the recommended five or more servings a day of fruits and vegetables.

One reason for this disparity is that children who eat breakfast are less likely to snack on sweets and drink juices later in the day. These contain high doses of sugar, which encourage bacterial growth and leads to tooth decay. A more powerful explanation, however, is that parents and caregivers who prepare a good breakfast are more apt to ensure that children brush their teeth, visit a dentist and eat fruits and other healthy foods.

The message to take from this, according to Dr. Shenkin, is that children need not be doomed to poor dental health. The dentist and adjunct professor of public administration at the University of Maine is working to change the old Maine mindset that tooth loss is destiny by combating what he calls the two biggest villains: poor nutrition and lack of basic oral hygiene.

On the first front, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children between the ages of 1 and 6 drink no more than 4 to 6 ounces of juice a day. Even 100 percent fruit juice bathes teeth in sugar. In their study, Dr. Shenkin and his colleagues found that the average daily intake of juice among youngsters was 12 ounces.

As for oral hygiene, Dr. Shenkin has found that caregivers often put off preventive cleanings and examinations until children complain of pain. By that time, the decay can be widespread and a child’s pain and apprehension can be a barrier to treatment. Instead, children as young as 3 should visit a dentist for a check-up. Dr. Shenkin, who runs the only pediatric specialty practice north of Falmouth, makes these visits easier with electronic games and fun props.

As for the shocking picture, parents and caregivers can teach children good nutrition and dental care and make sure they get regular check-ups to help them avoid a similar fate.