Have you ever checked to see if your child's school has a vending machine? And, if so, what it's stocked with? The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) recognizes that targeted marketing (towards kids) and easy access to sweetened foods and beverages by children and young adults may increase the amount and frequency of their consumption, which, in turn, may contribute to an increase in cavities risk and a negative influence on overall nutrition and health.
If kids drink a lot of sweetened and/or carbonated beverages, and consume refined carbs, that are at a much higher risk for the initiation and progression of tooth decay and cavities.
Why are vending machines the problem?
- They provide ready access to highly-refined carbs, especially soft drinks (sodas, fruit juices, and sports drinks)
- Vending machine items with limited nutritional value are "competitive foods", resulting in snack options that are considered to be of poor nutritional quality - often times, sugar, sugar, sugar!
- A significant increase in number of cavities has been reported for kids who attended schools that had vending machines.
- 13% of children ages 2-10 had diets high in consumption of carbonated soft-drinks, and these children had a significantly higher dental cavity experience
What we suggest:
- Check your child's school out and see if they have a vending machine and what kinds of snacks and drinks are in it.
- How are kids able to purchase from the vending machines? Some schools have ID cards that parents can put money on, others are the standard cash-only. If re-loadable ID cards apply to you, set a strict limit on your child's card, limiting the number refined carbs and soft drinks they can have a week.
- Talk to your kids about the negative effects these foods and drinks can have not only just on their teeth, but their overall health, too! The types of foods and drinks in vending machines have also had an effect on childhood obesity.
The AAPD is supporting an ongoing effort to increase the healthy choices available in vending machines by replacing sugar-sweetened drinks with bottled water, candy bars with nutrition bars, and potato chips with dried fruits and nuts!
