Sugar is a common food in the diet. People use this sugar often, especially when they are having cake or other desserts. However, sugar can be bad for teeth, and it can also cause cavities. This article looks at how sugar affects your teeth and affects your oral health as well as how best to prevent it from occurring.
Sugar Attracts Bad Bacteria in Your Mouth
Sugar attracts bad bacteria in your mouth. The bacteria grow faster and can lead to tooth decay or gum disease. Sugar is one of the things that encourages the growth of those bacteria. How much sugar you use in your diet also affects this. Using too much sugar can lead to tooth decay or gum disease as well as many other dental problems such as toothache, bleeding, and bad breath. Sugar causes cavities because it feeds the bad bacteria in your mouth.
Bad Bacteria Form Sticky Dental Plaque That Clings To Your Teeth
Sugar can cause cavities because it attracts bad bacteria, and those bacteria form sticky dental plaque. When you eat sugary foods, you increase the number of bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria produce sticky dental plaque that clings to the surface of your teeth and forms a hard layer. It doesn’t just cling though; it creates holes in your teeth, too.
The bacterial plaque sticks to your teeth and forms hard layers over time. When you get a filling, the dentist removes the layer of bacteria and fills the hole with cement or metal.
Sugar Reduces pH in Your Mouth
Sugar also reduces pH in your mouth. In other words, it makes the acid in your mouth stronger. The more sugar you eat, the stronger the acid becomes. The acid is what causes cavities and tooth decay. Sugar can also make your gums recede too much and expose the roots of your teeth. This makes it easier for bad bacteria to get into your body and cause infections or other dental problems.
Baby Teeth at Stake
Sugary drinks are so popular for children because they taste sweet. But these drinks can cause tooth decay even on your baby’s teeth. Their baby teeth are more prone to cavities. That’s why you should avoid giving these sugary drinks to your children because it increases the risks for them to get cavities in their baby teeth before they emerge and fall out naturally.
Frequent Sugar Consumption Linked to Cavities
If you eat foods high in sugar too often, it can lead to cavities and other dental health problems. This is especially true for adults. Researchers consistently link frequent sugar consumption to cavities. The more food you eat that’s high in sugar, the greater the risks are for you to get cavities and fillings. By taking steps to reduce your daily sugar consumption, you can lower your risk of tooth decay.
Cavities, Dental Fillings, and Tooth Decay
Foods high in sugar can cause cavities and increase your risk of getting a dental filling. They most likely cause tooth decay by increasing the risk for bacteria to get into your mouth where they grow quickly on your teeth and gums. This increases the risk for you to get a dental filling or a root canal later down the line.
In many cases, cavities develop because of frequent sugar consumption. The more food you eat that’s high in sugar, the greater the risks are for you to get cavities and fillings. By taking steps to reduce your daily sugar consumption, you can lower your risk of tooth decay. Contact Eriks Dental Group to schedule a dental cleaning or a consultation today with our team.