Many people think that simply consuming less sugar is going to lead to healthier teeth and gums, but this is not quite the case. Though decreasing your sugar intake is a good idea for maintaining a healthy body, the name of the game for our Lynnwood Dentistry is less about eating less sugar and more about properly portioning the sugar you eat.
The real enemy of your teeth is carbohydrates, and sugar is only one of these. Carbs are virtually impossible to avoid, and it would be inadvisable to eliminate them from your diet entirely. So, instead of cutting down on what you eat, try cutting down on how frequently you eat. Eating three large meals a day and not snacking in the interim time is healthier for your teeth than eating the same amount of food in small portions throughout the day.
The thing to understand here is that, when you eat, your oral bacteria gets to eat too. While it eats, it is producing the harsh acids that compromise your tooth enamel. Your mouth is under attack by these acids from between twenty to thirty minutes after you finish your meal, so you need to allow for significant breaks between meals to allow this acidic assault to let up.
Try to imagine that you have a single eight-ounce soda, for example. If you drink the entire soda in one minute, your oral bacteria is releasing acid for a mere half hour. However, if you nurse this same soda by taking a single ounce every half hour, you are feeding the bacteria and subjecting your mouth to a four-and-a-half-hour assault. Your enamel cannot stand up too long against this.
