It's not how much sugar - it's how often

Every sugary sip or snack starts a 20 to 30 minute acid attack. Grazing all day means teeth never recover.

Each time sugar reaches the teeth, cavity germs in plaque turn it into acid. The enamel softens for about 20 to 30 minutes until saliva brings the pH back up and minerals start returning.

Five small attacks are worse than one big one

A bag of sweets eaten in one go after lunch causes one acid attack. The same sweets eaten one at a time over the afternoon cause five or six - and the teeth spend most of the afternoon softening instead of repairing.

Practical swaps that actually stick

• Keep sweet things to mealtimes, especially dessert straight after a meal.
• Between meals: water, plain milk, cheese, nuts (for older children), fruit, vegetables.
• Watch the "healthy" sticky snacks - dried fruit, fruit bars, biscuits - that cling in the grooves of back teeth.
• Juice counts as sugar. Dilute it, serve it with meals, or skip it.

Sugar at mealtimes, water in between, nothing after the bedtime brush.

General information for healthy children. It does not replace an examination by a dentist.