Impact of Sugary Drinks on Your Teeth

If you want to ensure better dental health of you and your family, you undoubtedly have to pay attention to the oral hygiene routine of you and your family. But good oral hygiene is not enough to ensure healthy teeth and mouth. There are certain other factors to be taken into consideration. The most important one is your diet.

It would be worth mentioning here that there are a lot of foods and drinks which can be dangerous for your teeth, gums and other areas of your oral cavity. More specifically, sugary drinks have been quite damaging for the teeth. Fruit juices and soft drinks are usually quite high in sugar. Consuming too much of these drinks can lead to certain dental health issues including cavities, gum disease and bad breath.

Impact sugary drinks on teeth

While you may be told that regular consumption of sugary drinks can lead to serious dental health problems, consumption of these drinks occasionally is also not less dangerous. When you consume sugary drinks, some of the sugar in the drinks tends to leave behind in the mouth. this sugar usually clings to the teeth or it gets absorbed by the texture of the tongue. This sugar is then consumed by the bacteria. Bacteria, after consuming this sugar, produce an acid which can be quite dangerous for the teeth. This acid can cause tooth decay and cavities.

Even if the cavities are not being produced, the acid production leads to the thinning of tooth enamel. This thinning can cause hypersensitivity in the teeth.

Avoiding the damage

If you want to avoid the damage caused by sugary drinks, you have to make sure that you are avoiding these drinks whenever possible. Instead, you can go for the healthy options such as water and milk. And if you want to have the sweetness, you can consider having natural fruit juices instead of sugary drinks. The best way is to buy the fruits and prepare their juices at your home. You can add seltzer water in the juice to reduce the amount of sugar per serving in the juice.

If you have to go for the sugary drinks occasionally, you need to make sure that you rinse your mouth with water immediately after the consumption of those juices in order to wash away the sugar remnants. Furthermore, you can keep a mouthwash and toothpaste with you. Make sure that these items have fluoride in them because fluoride is known for having constructive ability in favor of the tooth enamel.

Things to Know About Dental Caries

Dental caries is basically a term used for tooth decay and cavities. These caries are formed due to certain types of bacteria damaging the tooth enamel (the outermost layer of the teeth) and dentin (the layer beneath enamel).

It would be worth mentioning here that mouth is the home to several types of bacteria. Some are good while some are bad. The accumulation of bad bacteria on the teeth results in the formation of a soft film which is called dental plaque. The plaque also contains saliva and particles of foods. It forms in several areas including pits and fissures in the back teeth, interdental areas, around dental fillings, and near the gum line.

The main job of bacteria present in the plaque is to turn the sugar and carbohydrates into acid which dissolves the minerals in tooth enamel. This dissolving of enamel results in the development of holes in the tooth enamel. While these holes may not be quite visible in the first sight, they get larger with the passage of time.

These holes can be deep enough to give acid the access to dentin. When acids seep through these holes to the inner layers, the damage to the tooth can be quite devastating. Consistent production of bacteria and nonstop interaction between the layers of teeth and acid can result in the acids and bacteria reaching the innermost layer of the tooth. This layer is called pulp which consists of active nerves and vessels. Any infection to this area is not only highly painful but it can also result in the infection reaching jawbone and other areas of the jaw.

Symptoms

Early signs of decay are not usually visible. However, an advanced decay can result in hypersensitivity of the teeth.

Diagnosis

You may not be able to see the cavities with you naked eye but your dentist surely knows about the signs of tooth decay even in the very first stages. The diagnosis mainly involves use of a tool which is called explorer. The major problem with explorer is that it can puncture the tooth enamel when too much of the force is applied.

Another way of diagnosing cavities is the dental x-rays test. Whether it is a newly formed decay between the teeth or it is an advanced decay, dental x-rays test can help the dentist to know the exact status.

Duration of caries

If it is the new formed caries on your teeth, you can go for the early treatment to get the caries reversed. However, advanced caries will require advanced treatment. For this purpose, you can visit the dentist and discuss the treatment options.

Remember, leaving the problem untreated can lead to the caries getting severer, ultimately resulting in the need for root canal and/or tooth extraction.

Prevention

The best way to deal with the dental caries is none other than effective prevention. First of all, you have to make sure that you are taking good care of your oral hygiene. Brushing your teeth twice in every day and flossing for at least once in a day are very important. Moreover, you need to visit the dentist biannually to stay away from the trouble.