03 Mar Sugar – And its Effects on The Teeth

By now, most of us are surely familiar with how negative sugar can be to our weight, and to our dental health too.

So much food nowadays is astonishingly packed with sugar and artificial components. Most people seem to enjoy a lot of processed food and like to eat at fast food restaurants. Although eating a pack of M&M’s isn’t the worst thing on Earth, there are still a lot of things to know before you hook into sugary foods.

So although it is a well-established fact that eating sugary foods is attributed to poor health – it may be helpful to understand why exactly it is so.

Sugar Tastes Good

Like everything in life – things come for a price. 

There are all sorts of things that may seem great at the start, but lead into a more difficult situation long term. Sugar tastes good, lets face it. That is why it is not surprising that the sweets industry is as popular as it is.

When eating sugary foods, the human brain releases the chemical dopamine. This is a hormone that makes us feel good. Sugar can actually have affects on the brain similar to using certain drugs, so yes, you can absolutely becomed addicted to sugar.

This is why sugar is so notorius – not only is it bad for your health, but it can latch onto you like an addiction.

Sugar causes acid in the mouth

If you have ever wondered why exactly eating sugar causes tooth decay it is because of a certain acid that is released as a result. When we have foods and drinks containing sugar, it interacts with a bacteria within plaque that creates somewhat of an acid. 

In turn, this is why you may experience tooth decay because the acid will slowly but surely start to eat away and dissolve the enamel on the teeth – creating holes. If you do not do anything about this soon enough, you may find that your teeth end up getting abscesses – meaning that later on the teeth may need to get taken out.

The bacteria of the mouth

Inside the human mouth, there is an amazing amount of bacteria that is active. Not all bacteria is bad, and there are all sorts of bacteria that can protect your dental health. 

This is similar to the stomach: probiotics are actually a type of bacteria that can aid in good digestion and absorption of nutrients. The same goes with the mouth, and you may also find that using a strong mouthwash can leave your mouth feeling uncomfortable and washed out. This is certain mouthwashes may kill important bacteria.

What you can do

As mentioned before, sugary foods can still be enjoyed in moderation. Too much of anything can be harmful. 

One of the best things you can do is to always brush your teeth twice a day. Try to brush your teeth sometime in the morning after breakfast, and at night before you go to bed. Brushing your teeth just keeps everything nice and clean, as the toothbrush will scrub away the food that has trapped.

Of course, you will need to actually brush your teeth the correct way, by using circular motions and by remembering to brush around the back parts of your teeth. Also, do not forget to clean your tongue. Most toothbrushes have a tongue cleaner behind the bristles.

A lot of dentists are recommending people brush their teeth with electric toothbrushes, as the rotating motion of the bristles can get to places that a manual toothbrush cannot. 

If you still like the taste of sweetness, then you can go for artificially sweetened food and drinks. A lot of artificially sweetened products do not contribute to tooth decay, because they do not behave the same way that sugar does.

Conclusion

Sugar is one of the most commonly used ingredients in food products all around the world, but it can also be harmful and even addictive. Too much sugar not only causes weight gain and poor overall health, but it is also very responsible for tooth decay and other dental problems.

By remembering to brush your teeth properly twice a day and by limiting your sugar intake, you can expect to see an improvement in not only your dental health but overall health state.