| The National Institutes of Health offers a free downloadable booklet called
Snack Smart for Healthy Teeth. The publication teaches elementary-school-age children about how diet contributes to oral health.
It contains statistics sure to impress kids, such as that the average American eats 147 pounds of sugar a year. More importantly,
Snack Smart for Healthy Teeth explains in clear terms how sugars attack teeth, and how kids can snack smart to protect themselves from tooth decay.
Here's how it describes how cavities form: "Invisible germs called bacteria live in your mouth all the time. Some of these bacteria form a sticky material called plaque on the surface of the teeth. When you put sugar in your mouth, the bacteria in the plaque gobble up the sweet stuff and turn it into acids. These acids are powerful enough to dissolve the hard enamel that covers your teeth. That's how cavities get started. If you don't eat much sugar, the bacteria can't produce as much of the acid that eats away enamel."
To download Snack Smart for Health
Teeth, go to
www.nidr.nih.gov/health/pubs/snaksmrt/main.htm.
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