Xylitol Disguises

[ailbhe]

We have some sorbitol sweets which I rolled in xylitol; she ate a few and stopped. Then I made her warm chocolate to drink; downside, rice milk contains other sugars. Upside, she slowly put almost a teaspoonful of xylitol in her mouth.

We might bake with xylitol so she can have some at the end of every meal.

Comments

[nicolap.livejournal.com]

I imagine it's terribly difficult to get past that whole "Sweets Are Bad For Your Teeth" parental instinct, however much you know that it's not true for those particular sweets. Baking is almost always the answer...

[bafleyanne.livejournal.com]

I was thinking, with regard to the ice lollies, could you make some with xylitol and some other appealing flavoring so she'd want to have them? Orange maybe, or cherry?

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

It takes very little of those for me to have nearly uncontrollable diarrhea.

[ailbhe]

She's been ok with sorbitol in the past, though I think the amount of xylitol we need her to use is more than the sorbitol she's had in general. We'll have to see who it goes. We already know that it's not worth using mint toothpaste even if it is better for her teeth because she gags herself sick, and that's not good for enamel.

[the-changeling.livejournal.com]

Check my post, one of my flist is in Finland, and has offered to post over sweets, gum, flouride/xylitol toothpaste - the whole shebang.

[(Anonymous)]

Tesco do a non-mint toothpaste for children. It's available in Banana or Strawberry flavour, and is approved by Dental Health organisations. Although it doesn't contain as much fluoride as it should, you could get fluoride drops to supplement it.

Does Emer still feed in the night? Apparently (according to my 'adopted daughter', who is an NHS Direct Dental Adviser) this is a problem for children with weak tooth-enamel, as there is less saliva in their mouth at this time, and the sugars in the breast milk stay on the teeth. (And she's a radically pro-breast-feeding mum, who fed her little boy until he was 5!) In fact, she says a child with de-mineralising teeth should only drink fruit juice and milk (including rice milk) with meals, not at any other time, and that it is much better for them to drink through a straw, as this prevents so much of the sugar acids getting onto the teeth.

If you think any further advice from her might be helpful, do just drop me an email and I'll put you in touch!

Elaine

[ailbhe]

Live breastmilk has been shown to remineralise teeth! Obviously old or pasteurised doesn't work the same way, and it doesn't work on teeth already covered in other sugars so it's important to brush teeth *first*, but I've actually been wondering how I could expose the affected teeth to breastmilk (they're in the wrong part of her mouth so never get touched by it, dammit) to improve their condition. The teeth opposite, which get all the benefit of post-brushing milk in a normal feeding position, are great.

There's some very interesting research on it if she cares to look it up. But the thorough toothbrushing is the main thing.

(Tom of Maine's also do a strawberry toothpaste but it doesn't contain xylitol).