Maybe you are just extra tired today, or it’s after work and you deserve a treat for surviving it. Whatever the reason, sugar addiction is real and is harmful to your quality of life as well as your teeth. Your mouth is the gateway to the trouble and if there are problems in your mouth, the rest of your body will be involved as well.
What is Sugar?
Sugar is a carbohydrate that our bodies and brains love. It tastes sweet on the tongue and it comes in multiple types of foods and plants we eat on a daily basis. The human body needs a certain amount of sugar to operate every day, but the average diet contains far more a day than anyone needs in a week.
Why is it so bad for teeth?
Food, in general, can be bad for our teeth and gums, but we need it to live. Sugar in healthy amounts can be good for us, but our teeth suffer in the long run. Even frequent brushing sometimes is not enough. Sugar can sit on our teeth and start to destroy them.
The name of this destruction is called tooth decay. Sugar that sits on our teeth eats away at the tooth enamel. This process is done through the harmful bacteria that are present in the human mouth. Whenever sugar is present, they are there.
They are a type of acid that gradually eats away the minerals off of healthy human teeth. The minerals are the enamel. The enamel is a protective outer layer on our teeth that helps keep them healthy.
The minerals present in our saliva, toothpaste, and water help protect our teeth from the decay caused by excess amounts of sugar. If this lingers, it will eat a hole into a tooth and cause a cavity. While this can be an easy thing to fix for most people; it can still lead to loss of the tooth later in life.
Are You Addicted to Sugar?
Having an addiction to sugar can be obvious in cravings for that pick-me-up that occurs around an hour after lunch and first thing in the morning when the morning coffee just does not taste right without that extra scoop. Sugar addiction can be noted in your energy levels.
You can ask yourself, “are you addicted to sugar?” or you can ask yourself, “how many things do I eat at each meal that have sugar?” and review your eating habits including the snacks that you might not consider sugary. Those post-lunch carrots you eat as a healthy snack are packed with sugary carbohydrates that are doing their part in providing your teeth with that extra layer of sugar.
What can you do to stop it?
Watching your eating habits can show you the number of items you are consuming that have high levels of sugar. Serving sizes are suggestive on labels and most packages usually contain at least one. This means that the entire jar of pasta sauce you use provides you with 3 and 4 servings of sugar.
Brushing your teeth after every meal and doing it well is another way to fight off cavities and tooth decay. A visit to your local North View Dental office is also a place to start. Regular cleanings and dental work can help prevent the spread of decay and keep teeth looking their best. Their professional atmosphere and their attention to you and your teeth will keep you smiling for a long time.
