Studies Have Found Vitamin Gummies are Causing Dental Decay in Children

We all want our children to be healthy. It’s why we encourage them from a young age to eat their fruit and vegetables and get them outside so they can get active.

But doing this can be easier said than done. You can’t force feed a child to eat what’s in front of them and sometimes it can be a battle to get your child to eat their greens.

That’s why it makes sense to parents to supplement their child’s diet with child-friendly gummy vitamins.

But new research from The Conversation has found worrying links between vitamin gummies and dental decay in children.

While the children’s vitamins sound like a great option for fussy eaters, offering vitamins and minerals including omega-3 fats and vegetable powders, there are often nasties that AREN’T shown on the ingredient list.

Additives including food acids, citric acid, lactic acid and ascorbic acid and the high sugar content, cancel out any of the good things the gummies may provide to your child’s health.

Dr. J Lewin, a Sydney general dentist for more than 35 years, has warned the gummy vitamins are doing irreparable damage to children’s teeth.

“I have seen the distressing increase in decay in children as young as 2 years old. Very often a child’s first dental visit involves having to undergo a general anaesthetic to complete multiple fillings, root canal fillings and stainless steel crowns,” she says.

And these treatments at a young age are not only expensive for the parent, they can be traumatic for the child.

“The amount of food acids and sugar that are hidden in processed food and drinks is the direct cause of this. In my opinion, children’s gummie vitamins are a gimmick designed to make parents think they are providing nutrients for little ones, but may really just be encouraging a taste for sweet things and empty calories, and lead to life-long dental issues.”

So what are parents to do? There are alternative children’s vitamins that may be considered.

Alternatively, Dr. Lewin suggests parents go back to what’s worked best for children in the past: replace the gummies with fresh fruit and vegetables and give water or whole milk instead of fruit juices.