Sugar and teeth what's the Problem????
Posted on Mon, Jan 23, 2012 @ 06:50 AM
The reason that the Dentists at Redmond Molloy care about sugar so much is that it is one of the main causes of disease in your Teeth and Gums.
It is a very simple equation - Bacteria when it combines with sugar produces Acid as a bi-product, and it is this Acid that does pretty much all the damage.
We at Redmond Molloy don't like this to happen, as the acidity when it reaches a ph below 5.5 can start to break down the tooth.
Dentists know that in general teeth can tolerate three acid attacks a day ; breakfast, Lunch and Dinner. This is why we at Redmond Molloy advise patients that if they eat their sweet/sugary things around those meals, the mouth is better able to counteract the acid attack, as there is more saliva produced at meal times and this helps limit the damage caused by the acid.
Redmond Molloy realise that we can't cut sugar totally out of the diet, so this is why we advise avoiding sugary snacks between meals in order to limit damage to your teeth.
How can you simply follow this advice?
The best way is to first analyse the amount of times a day that you expose your teeth to sugar, an easy way to do this is to compile a diet sheet on three non-consecutive days (tues, thurs, Sat) writing down the food that you eat and the times eaten. Then examine, not the amount in total of sugar that you consume but the frequency or amount of times a day that you have sugary foods.
The thing that surprises most patients is the hidden sugars that we are not realizing are damaging our teeth such as sugar in tea or coffee which seems innocuous but are as damaging as jellies or mints.
Redmond Molloy can help you interpret these diet sheets, so don't be afraid to bring these to us if you are concerned. The main message that Redmond Molloy want our patients to leave with are that dentists alone cannot stop tooth decay, the cleaning of your teeth and the reduction in the amount of times a day that you eat sugary foods are the best way to counteract the acid attacks that cause your Dentist to need to place fillings. 
If you are unsure about the health of your teeth, can we suggest you arrange an appointment for a check up.
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