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As dental professionals, we feel like broken records telling people to reduce the amount of sugar in their diets to reduce tooth decay. We know we’ve gotten through to some of you and you have made important changes, such as cutting back your sugary latte or soda pop consumption to just one per day followed by a thorough tooth brushing. But some of you who have made these positive changes are still shocked when we tell you that you we’re still finding new cavities.
We assure you, the dentist isn’t making it up when new cavities appear. What we’ve realized is there’s a gap in the information we’re giving you about sugary treats. Here’s the missing piece: it’s not always how much sugar you consume, but how you consume it that leads to tooth decay!
This is what the dentist knows that all patients should know too: sustained sugar consumption, even in moderation, over a long period of time can damage your oral health.
For example, you stop by the coffee shop on the way to work and pick up your favorite caramel latte and sip on it gradually from 8am until 11am, at which point you brush your teeth. Sure, your teeth are nice and clean now, but for the previous 3 hours you’ve been continuously bathing your teeth in sugar, providing a feast for the bacteria in your mouth. And those bacteria aren’t going to politely wait until you brush your teeth at 11am to start making holes in your tooth enamel or get under your gums and become gingivitis.
This same concept holds true for soda pop or a baggie of fruit-flavored candies. If you’re going to enjoy any sugary treats, make sure you consume it fairly quickly to avoid exposing your teeth to sugar for a long period of time. Of course, brushing right afterward is still a good habit. But if you don’t have access to a toothbrush right away, drinking plain non-carbonated water can help flush away at least some of the sugar.
So remember, moderation is important both in terms of quantity of sugary treats and how long it takes you to eat or drink them!
We all know that drinking too much sweet sugary soda pop can cause tooth decay. Sodas should only be an occasional treat (like a cupcake or a candy bar), not your main source of hydration or caffeine. To get around this issue and still enjoy a sweet drink, many people turn to sugar-free varieties. The only problem is that sugar-free sodas can cause tooth decay too!
Sodas sweetened with real sugar or high fructose corn syrup are bad for your teeth because they feed bacteria. This bacteria processes the sugar and creates acids, which sit on your teeth in the form of plaque and cause dental erosion.
Sugar-free sodas don’t feed decay-causing bacteria. They skip that step altogether. Many sugar-free sodas are acidic on their own, meaning the soda itself can cause dental erosion. Tooth decay occurs when dental erosion eats away at the hard protective outer layer of teeth, leaving the softer dentin underneath exposed. This is how cavities eventually form.
While diet sodas can be a great choice when it comes to reducing the amount of sugar or calories you consume, it’s good to keep in mind that there’s no “easy way out” when it comes to good dietary choices. In other words, soda pop of any kind should only be consumed in moderation (including “energy drink” varieties). Nearly any dentist you ask will agree that a balanced diet that includes a minimal amount of sugar, processed foods, and acidic foods is the best way to maintain your oral health. Think of your balanced diet as the best possible kind of dental insurance (and the cheapest)!
We know that a soda habit can be hard to kick. Often it’s the sensation of cold, crisp bubbles that makes soda hardest to give up. Believe it or not, many people find they get the same satisfaction and refreshing sensation from plain carbonated water. Just keep in mind that fizzy water contains carbon dioxide, which turns into carbonic acid in your mouth, so it’s more acidic that still water and therefore more risky for your tooth enamel. When you’re seeking refreshment, regular water is always your best choice!
If you have any questions or concerns about how your favorite drinks affect your teeth, please feel free to start a conversation with the dentist or the dental hygienist. We’d be happy to share our advice!
The message that soda is bad for your teeth and your overall health is hard to avoid these days. Most of us already know that sugary soda pop should be treated as a special treat, not an everyday beverage for quenching your thirst. What may surprise you is how many supposedly healthy drinks have a lot of sugar in them.
First, a reminder why sugar is bad for your teeth in the first place. Sugar causes tooth decay because bacteria (many of which naturally occur in your mouth) consume the sugar, digest it, and release it as acid. This acid erodes your tooth enamel and causes cavities. It’s not the sugar itself that’s dangerous, it’s the acid it creates!
So you have something to compare to, here’s the sugar content of popular sodas:
The nutrition labels on beverages can sometimes be hard to understand for Americans who aren’t used to the metric system of measurement. For your reference, one teaspoon of sugar is 4 grams. So 64g of sugar is equivalent to 16 tablespoons of sugar (in other words, a third of a cup!).
Oranges are known for being a great source of Vitamin C, which can help keep your immune system strong. And while this is true of the fruit itself, the juice is less honorable. An orange only contains about 2 oz. of juice, meaning a small 8 oz. glass of orange juice has the equivalent of 4 oranges. So eating an orange with your breakfast makes sense but downing a glass of orange juice is actually 4 times the sugar. Plus, like all citrus juices, orange juice is acidic. That means there are actually two substances in orange juice that could potentially harm your teeth.
Sports drinks like Gatorade and Powerade are touted as being a healthy option for anyone who engages in strenuous exercise, and their ads are full of professional athletes reaching for a brightly covered beverage to replenish their bodies. And while 14g of sugar per 8 0z. serving may not seem like a lot compared with soda pop’s 64g, ask yourself, when was the last time you only had only a quarter of a bottle of Gatorade? A regular bottle is 32 oz., meaning if you finish the bottle you’re actually consuming 56g of sugar!
Obviously, on its own, tea doesn’t contain any sugar, but over the centuries humans have figured out that adding sweeteners to tea can be pretty tasty, and iced tea is no exception. The trouble is that iced teas are marketed these days as natural and healthy, and you can easily overlook how much sugar they contain. For example, Arizona Iced Tea contains 24g of sugar per serving and Snapple Lemon Iced Tea contains 23g. The good news is there are unsweetened varieties of iced tea available for purchase, and you can always make your own so you can control the amount of sugar yourself.
In a dentist‘s fantasy world, all our patients would avoid sugary drinks completely, but we know that’s not realistic. All we ask is for our patients to have some awareness of what they’re subjecting their teeth and bodies to. After all, our ultimate job is protecting your smile! Remember, just because something has a reputation of being healthy and natural, and advertising that says so, doesn’t mean it can’t do harm.
Over time, plaque (a thick, bacteria-filled film) and tartar (a hard calcium-based build-up) can build up on your teeth & eventually lead to tooth decay. While regular brushing & flossing at home can help prevent this buildup, it can’t necessarily remove it. That’s why going to your dentist for a professional cleaning is so important.
Even if you have impeccable home oral hygiene habits (you floss & brush for at least two minutes twice daily, or even after every meal), there is still work for your dental hygienist to do at your teeth cleaning appointment to help prevent tooth decay. The cleaning you get at the dentist is a more thorough cleaning that you can get at home, even if you’re a brushing & flossing superstar.
If left on your teeth, icky buildups of plaque & tartar create an ideal habitat for bacteria to thrive. Allowing bacteria to stay on your teeth & near your gums can lead to both tooth decay & gum disease, both of which can cause you to lose your teeth (not to mention the pain & expenses). Bacteria have a harder time sticking to smooth, clean teeth than rough or fuzzy-feeling teeth with plaque & tartar on them.
Plus, having a professional teeth cleaning at the dentist means that you have a head start on keeping your teeth clean. Rather than battling potentially years of buildup (if you haven’t been to the dentist in a while), getting your teeth cleaned regularly means your get a clean start every six months & it will be that much easier to get a smooth, shiny smile at home between dental visits.
Best of all, cleanings can save you money in the long run. Most insured patients don’t pay anything out of pocket for their cleanings, so it’s essentially free. Plus, if you catch problems early or have the opportunity to prevent them you could eliminate the need for more expensive procedures to restore damage from tooth decay or gum disease in the future.
We know it can be difficult to get in the habit of flossing regularly. After all, your mouth can feel pretty fresh after just brushing, enough to fool you into thinking it’s totally clean and safe from tooth decay or gum disease. But flossing regularly is the only way to make sure you actually clean your teeth completely. Here are a few misconceptions we want to dispel to help motivate your flossing habits!
We know there are some people out there who only whip out the floss after eating popcorn or corn on the cob. Of course floss is great for removing the remnants of rogue kernels, but it’s not just large obvious bits of food you have to worry about. Floss also helps remove plaque that accumulates between your teeth, creating the risk for cavities even if you don’t have food stuck there. If you floss regularly, you already know how surprising it is the amount of stuff you can clean out from between your teeth even if you didn’t sink them into anything particularly messy that day.
There are plenty of adults who have yet to make a solid habit of flossing. In many cases, these adults still have all their teeth and haven’t had any problems with interproximal caries (tooth decay that happens between your teeth). But just because someone has gotten this far without feeling the need to floss doesn’t mean they shouldn’t start! For one thing, the early signs of dental disease such as gum disease (periodontitis) don’t have obvious symptoms. Bleeding gums is one of the first signs you may be developing gum disease, but even if you teeth don’t bleed when you brush that doesn’t mean you’re not at risk. Start flossing now and you still may have all your own teeth for the rest of your life!
This is a choice of words problem: Many people hear that your gums bleeding when you floss is common, and misunderstand that fact to mean that it’s normal. Yes, many people see blood when they floss, but no, it’s not normal. No matter what, that spot of red is telling you something about your oral health, specifically the health of your gums. If this is a problem you encounter every time you floss, talk to us about it so we can assess the issue and have a plan for preserving your health.
Sealants have long been a routine part of preventive dental care for children. Since at least the 1970s, sealants have been placed on children’s teeth in order to prevent cavities and decay.
The point of sealants is to prevent decay by making it impossible for cavity-causing bacteria to accumulate in the deep grooves on molars, which can be harder to clean. Sealants can be made from several tooth-colored materials: resin-based is the most common, followed closely by glass ionomer (GIC). The sealant material starts as a liquid and is cured (hardened) in place on the tooth. Sealants should be applied to the molars as soon as they come in, usually around age ten. Contrary to rumors, sealant materials don’t contain the chemical BPA and do no put children at risk of longterm BPA exposure.
Sealants can last as long as 5 years, and many last even longer, well into adulthood. Resin-based sealants are shown to last much longer than glass ionomer sealants, but glass ionomer sealants have the added benefit that they slowly release fluoride, which strengthens tooth enamel and can therefore help prevent decay. Sealants on permanent molars reduce cavities by over 80 percent.
Sealants are recommended for children who are a high risk of cavities, such as those who have yet to develop reliable oral hygiene habits. The American Dental Association actually recommends that all children or adolescents get sealants, regardless of a perceived higher risk of cavities. There is little reliable evidence of the effectiveness of sealants on preventing tooth decay in adults, so it is very rare for sealants to be applied to adults. That being said, many adults still have their sealants that they got as children, and as long as the sealant is present it should continue to be effective.
