Sugar causes cavities, doesn’t it?
Many people tell their children the same horrifying story that they heard from others about the detrimental influence of sugar on teeth. Is it only a fairy tale to reduce the consumption of sweets or sugar does influence our teeth and causes cavities? Should people avoid eating sugar and candies at all to have strong and healthy teeth? Let’s find out answers to these questions.
Every parent wishes his or her kids were happy and healthy. However, how to correlate both these characteristics correctly if it is impossible to be absolutely healthy eating sweets, while without candies you also do not feel absolutely happy. The main organ that suffers from the overconsumption of sweets is teeth, but to understand how it happens, you should understand the connection between sugar and cavity.
Most people know the term “cavity” as dental caries. Both these terms have the same meaning: it is a hole in the tooth caused by decay that got inside the tooth through damages in the enamel. What is decay you may wonder? In fact, it is a process when the tooth gets attacked by a sticky bacteria formed in the digestive system that builds a plaque on the tooth. The last one leads to the tooth decay only after a long-term impact on it and results in a cavity. If a person does not treat the following cavity, the consequences can be rather frustrating: it can result in the creation of a hole and exposure of tooth nerve endings that is unbearably painful. Moreover, sometimes it may lead to the necessity of a root canal creation or even saying ‘goodbye’ to your tooth.
The role of sugar in the cavity development
It is natural that sugar plays some role in causing cavities or there won’t be so many legends about its negative impact. However, if you believe that it is sugar on your teeth causing cavities, you are mistaken. Sugar is only a pleasant environment for the growth of bacteria. Some of them can not be managed properly by our organism or we do nothing to remove them, and it leads to their endless growth. In addition, our body to be able to digest the food we eat produces special acids that remove necessary minerals from our teeth. That is why people need to restore them again and it can be achieved if you brush teeth regularly, drink fluorinated water or saliva. As a result, you see that any food including sugar may lead to causing cavities, but it is not the reason to refuse from it. It is more reasonable to take care of the teeth regularly and reduce the number of possible bacteria.
How to prevent cavities
If you enjoy eating sweets and are not ready to cut on their consumption, especially on holidays, it is very important to pay more attention to oral care. Both grownups and children should brush their teeth at least two times a day, floss and rinse mouth with a special wash, chew a gum that contains no sugar, and plan your visits of the dentist cabinet two times a year as well.
It is natural that children should eat a restricted number candies each day for their teeth to be healthy and strong. However, it is also very important to teach them to value their dental health and do everything to keep it strong. It will also decrease the chances to get other health issues and live a longer and healthier life.