10 things that can wreck your teeth
10 things that can wreck your teeth
—J.D.
May 4, 2008
1. Potato chips. When you eat starches, including pretzels and pasta, enzymes in your saliva break the food into simple sugars, feeding the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
2. Peppermints. Sucking on sugary hard candies all day puts your teeth under constant attack by tooth-decay-causing bacteria.
3. Cough drops. Gram for gram, some cough drops have as much—if not more—sugar as chocolate. The same is true for other "medicinal" products, such as antacids and breath mints.
4. Soda. If you want to feed the bacteria in your mouth, drink soda. It's just loaded with sugar and flavor additives, and the acids—found in diet sodas too—can destroy tooth enamel.
5. Bottled water. Not all dentists sing the praises of fluoride, but the ADA stresses the decay-preventing benefits. Most bottled waters don't have it and most home water-filtration systems remove all fluoride.
6. Coffee drinks. Whipped cream, chocolate sauce and flavor syrups are loaded with sugar. A small caramel macchiato, for example, has more sugar than a Snickers candy bar.
7. Juice. Even unsweetened juices contain naturally occurring sugar; an 8-ounce glass of orange juice contains about 30 grams of sugar. The same size serving of Mountain Dew contains 31 grams of sugar.
8. Sports drinks. "High energy" and sports drinks are high in sugar and have the highest "mean buffering capacity," which means they can severely erode your enamel, according to a study in General Dentistry.
9. Fruit leathers and roll-ups. Made from sweetened fruit purees, these sticky snacks are essentially candy. Bits stick to teeth, leaving your teeth susceptible to decay.
10. Gum. Sugary chewing gum puts your teeth under prolonged attack, but don't rule out gum altogether. Xylitol, a sugar substitute in some gums, has been shown to help prevent tooth decay.
—J.D.
May 4, 2008
1. Potato chips. When you eat starches, including pretzels and pasta, enzymes in your saliva break the food into simple sugars, feeding the bacteria that cause tooth decay.
2. Peppermints. Sucking on sugary hard candies all day puts your teeth under constant attack by tooth-decay-causing bacteria.
3. Cough drops. Gram for gram, some cough drops have as much—if not more—sugar as chocolate. The same is true for other "medicinal" products, such as antacids and breath mints.
4. Soda. If you want to feed the bacteria in your mouth, drink soda. It's just loaded with sugar and flavor additives, and the acids—found in diet sodas too—can destroy tooth enamel.
5. Bottled water. Not all dentists sing the praises of fluoride, but the ADA stresses the decay-preventing benefits. Most bottled waters don't have it and most home water-filtration systems remove all fluoride.
6. Coffee drinks. Whipped cream, chocolate sauce and flavor syrups are loaded with sugar. A small caramel macchiato, for example, has more sugar than a Snickers candy bar.
7. Juice. Even unsweetened juices contain naturally occurring sugar; an 8-ounce glass of orange juice contains about 30 grams of sugar. The same size serving of Mountain Dew contains 31 grams of sugar.
8. Sports drinks. "High energy" and sports drinks are high in sugar and have the highest "mean buffering capacity," which means they can severely erode your enamel, according to a study in General Dentistry.
9. Fruit leathers and roll-ups. Made from sweetened fruit purees, these sticky snacks are essentially candy. Bits stick to teeth, leaving your teeth susceptible to decay.
10. Gum. Sugary chewing gum puts your teeth under prolonged attack, but don't rule out gum altogether. Xylitol, a sugar substitute in some gums, has been shown to help prevent tooth decay.
posted by Bill at
9:54 AM
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