Originally published: April 2023, updated April 2025
April is Oral Health month in Canada. It’s a great time to brush up on what it means for your teen to have a healthy mouth. Limiting sugar is an important way to protect your teen from getting tooth decay.
Help your teen protect their teeth! Try these tips to limit sugar and avoid tooth decay.
Talk with your teen about sugar and oral health
Sugary food and drinks increase the risk of tooth decay. Teach your teen that there are bacteria in their mouth that break down the sugar we eat and make acids. These acids can damage the surface of their teeth (enamel) and can lead to tooth decay. The good news is that when we eat and drink less sugar, we can protect our teeth from tooth decay.
Teach your teen to spot sugar
Show your teen how to spot sugar on a food’s ingredient list. Sugar products that are added to food appear on the list of ingredients in brackets after the name ‘sugars’. Words like sucrose, syrup, honey, molasses, and fruit juice and puree concentrate are sugar products. When these words are near the beginning of the list, the food or drink is higher in sugar. Help your teen choose snacks and drinks where most sugars come from the natural sugars in fruits, vegetables and unsweetened dairy products, rather than from added sugars.
Make water your teen’s go-to drink
Try these tips to encourage your teen to drink water throughout the day:
- Serve water with meals and snacks.
- Encourage your teen to keep a reusable water bottle with them at school.
- Remind them that water is the best way to quench thirst during physical activity or when it’s hot outside—encourage them to skip sugary sport drinks and energy drinks.
- Replace sugary drinks with water.
Keep low-sugar snacks on hand
Have tooth-healthy snacks in the fridge or pantry so teens can grab them on the go. Try whole fruits, raw vegetables, cheese cubes, hard-boiled eggs, plain yogurt, nuts or seeds.
Put away the sugar bowl
Encourage your teen to avoid adding sugar to their food before they eat it. Here are some tasty, nutritious ways to swap out sugar:
- Top plain oatmeal with berries.
- Eat vegetables and fruits in their natural form, without sweetened dips or sauces.
- Replace syrup with unsweetened apple sauce or plain yogurt.
Make water your teen's go-to drink
Try these tips to encourage your teen to drink water throughout the day:
- Serve water with all meals and snacks.
- Encourage your teen to keep a reusable water bottle with them at school.
- Remind them that water is the best way to quench thirst during physical activity or when it’s hot outside—encourage them to skip sugary sport drinks and energy drinks.
- Replace sugary drinks with water.
Ask your dental professional about sugar and oral health
Limiting sugar is an important way to protect your teen from getting tooth decay.
Book regular appointments for your teen to see a dentist or dental hygienist. Ask them for advice on keeping teeth healthy. Teach your teen to brush their teeth for 2 minutes, at least twice a day with a pea-size amount of fluoride toothpaste.
Go to ahs.ca/oralhealth to learn more about financial support for dental care.
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