The mother’s intention is not to withhold candy from her child, but to protect him from eating too much sugar and destroying his teeth.
Usually, the child may throw a tantrum if he does not get what he wants, but in situations like this, the parents should set the boundaries and be in control.
“Sugar is addictive, and it comes in attractive packages such as candies and sugared drinks. It may be hard to control teenagers but parents play the biggest roles in controlling this addiction especially in little children,” says Toothworks Dental Clinic president Dr. Alan S. Markoff.
In addition to tooth decay problems, he said a high consumption of sugar contributes to the island’s leading diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
“When you shake your head once, you are warding off more future health problems for your children,” he said.
Tooth decay in kids
In the CNMI, Markoff said tooth decay is the number one disease among children.
“The main causes of tooth decay in children are negligence and poor diet, and the parents are usually to blame for it,” Markoff said.
He said he always makes it a point to stress this to the parents that it is their obligation to control the kids and not lay the blame on the children.
“You cannot blame a five or six-year-old child because he does not have the money to buy candy or sugared drinks on his own. Every time you say no, put it in your minds that you said no because you love your kids and want to preserve their teeth,” Markoff said.
He said negligence is a big offense and has no place in the dental language.
“When you lose your original teeth to neglect, there is no excuse for that,” he said.
Neglect is when parents don’t even take the time to peek into what is happening in their children’s teeth.
“Some cavities start at the back of the teeth, and oftentimes, decay has set it and it is too late to save the child’s teeth by the time the parents discover it,” he added.
The top sources of sugar are candies and sugary drinks, such as juices and sodas.
“Give water to your kids instead, especially fluoridated water and it will make all the difference,” he said.
Markoff said saying no does not necessarily mean depriving your children of treats such as cake and ice cream.
“You can give your kids treats but it is your obligation to see to it that they clean their teeth immediately after eating,” Markoff said.
It won’t matter to five or six year old kids if they clean their teeth or not.
Among the adult population in the CNMI, Markoff said gum diseases related with betel nut chewing is the number one problem.
“I can never stress on this topic enough that betel nut chewing brings with it numerous diseases, and gum disease is only one of them,” Markoff said.
