How to protect your family’s teeth from decay with less sugar and fluoride

Why it matters

Tooth decay is more than a passing ache: it can cause pain, trouble eating and sleeping, and eventually tooth loss. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases worldwide, affecting around 2.5 billion people. Yet it can be prevented.

The WHO identifies free sugars as the most common risk factor. A few simple habits at home help reduce that risk for adults and children alike.

Steps you can take today

First: cut back on sugar added to tea, sweets and dishes. Free sugars include those added by manufacturers, cooks or consumers, as well as the sugars in honey, syrups and fruit juices.

Second: keep fewer sugar-sweetened drinks at home and make water the main drink at the family table.

Third: give no sugar-sweetened drinks to children under two, as the WHO explicitly recommends.

Fourth: brush your teeth and your children’s teeth with fluoride toothpaste to remove plaque, which turns sugars into acids that damage teeth over time.

Fifth: when shopping at the market or the corner shop, read the labels on packaged foods and choose products with less sugar.

When to seek help

If anyone in the family has toothache, a visible cavity or difficulty chewing, don’t wait. See a dentist or visit the nearest health centre; early treatment is far simpler.

Healthy teeth start with small daily habits, and with a decision today to use less sugar.