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As a dad of four and a pediatric dentist, I can tell you that getting kids to brush their teeth consistently is one of the most universal challenges parents face. I hear about it every day in my office, and I deal with it in my own house. Here's everything I know about making it work.

Why Kids Resist in the First Place

Before jumping to solutions, it helps to understand why kids push back, because the reason shapes the approach.

• The long-term consequence problem. Young children aren't wired to be motivated ...

Nobody needs to be told that candy is bad for their kids' teeth. But there's a whole category of foods that parents assume are healthy — smart choices, good alternatives to junk food — that are quietly causing just as many cavities. Some of them are probably in your pantry right now.

Why These Foods Are Problematic

Before we get into the list, it helps to understand what makes a food dangerous for teeth. Three factors matter most:

• Sugar and starch — both feed the cavity-causing bacteria in your child's mouth.
• Stickiness — ...

Most of us have heard that sugar is bad for our teeth since we were kids. But very few people have actually heard why, or which habits are quietly doing more damage than others. Some of them might surprise you.

How Cavities Actually Form

Cavities aren't caused directly by sugar. They're caused by bacteria, specifically a group called Streptococcus mutans, that live in everyone's mouth. We all have them. They're part of the ecosystem of microorganisms that live in our gut, which starts at our mouth.

Here's the chain reaction: those bacteria ...