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This month we’re going to discus Threat #4, Diet. From age 6 to 96, diet is the most common culprit in tooth decay and other dental problems.
It often starts when we are young children receiving candies, cakes and colas without proper instruction in dental care, like the need to brush your teeth or rinse your mouth out with water after any sweets are consumed.
The next “danger zone” is the teenage years when children receive less supervision and more independence to decide what they’ll eat after school, at their part-time jobs, etc.
The third at-risk age group is the 22 to 32 year-olds. During this phase, they are so busy juggling getting their first jobs, moving, buying cars, getting married, etc. that dentistry often gets put off until “later.” Many times it isn’t until they have children of their own and become more settled that the importance of good dental health sinks in.
Once this happens, gum disease has often already taken hold and started a downward spiral that cannot be stopped without dental intervention and a renewed commitment to dental care.
By the time it reaches this stage, many adults experience bad breath or bleeding when they brush their teeth.
Unfortunately, their first reaction is often to begin using mints or to stop brushing their teeth, both of which worsen their condition.
The only thing they DON’T stop is the intake of sweets and sodas that caused the problem in the first place.
Now I’m not saying you must cut out all sweets and sodas from your diet in order o have healthy teeth. What I am saying is that you should take some precautions during and after enjoying these treats like:
- Do NOT nurse a soda over the course of hours. This causes the pH level in your mouth to remain high and the sugars to do their worst to your teeth.
- When you finish a soda or sweet treat, rinse your mouth out with water to remove the sugars and return the acidity in your mouth to a normal level.
