Family and Cosmetic Dentist - Livonia
31574 Schoolcraft Road
Livonia, MI 48150
(734) 425-4530
While you are certainly aware that sugar is one of the main causes of dental decay, what you may not realize is how it can lurk in the most unsuspecting places. For example, there are sugars that appear naturally in many foods - even milk! It is for this reason that we recommend that parents don't put their babies to sleep with a bottle of milk. As milk pools in a child's mouth, the sugars mix with bacteria in the mouth to make a mild acid, which can then attack the tooth enamel to produce cavities.
Make a habit of reading the labels on any packaged foods that you buy. Ingredients should be listed by weight, so if sugar is shown at the top of the list you know it is a major component in the product. Note that sugars also include corn syrup, molasses, dextrose, fructose, glucose, sucrose and honey.
Medicine isn't even immune to sneaky sugars. As Mary Poppins knew, "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down." Read the ingredients of liquid cough syrup and other medications - sometimes your doctor can recommend sugar-free alternatives.
Sticky sweets like toffee or sweets like suckers that linger in your mouth compound the effects of sugar as they remain in your mouth longer than a quick chocolate bar. Excess sugar can wreak havoc not just on your teeth, but elsewhere in the body too, so the wise thing for both your dental health and your total health is to make a habit of reading the ingredients in any packaged foods before you buy them, be aware of low-sugar or sugar-free alternatives in your daily diet and choose healthy options.