• Limit frequency of meals and snacks. Most school-aged children should have three meals and only two or three snacks per day.



• Avoid continual snacking. Have your child sit down and finish a snack instead of continually munching on small bites throughout the day.



• Encourage brushing and rinsing. Have your child brush his teeth or at least rinse his mouth with water after each meal or snack.



• Watch what he drinks. Water is the healthiest beverage for teeth, but milk and 100 percent fruit juices are also good choices. Soda pop, sports drinks, Kool-Aid, sweetened iced tea or lemonade, and chocolate- or strawberry-flavored milk all contain lots of sugar and should not be served routinely.



• Make a treat part of a meal. To reduce acid reactions, try to incorporate a treat with lunch or dinner, instead of serving it a couple of hours later as a stand-alone snack.



• Choose nutritious snacks. Get your child used to eating healthy foods, such as fruit, cut-up raw vegetables, yogurt, cheese, and pretzels as snacks.



• Avoid sticky foods. Watch your child's intake of sticky foods like fruit roll-ups and caramel. These food items linger on the tooth surface, causing the acid reaction to last longer and pose a higher risk for decay.

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