Here’s how to protect your pearly whites from decay

Sugar begins to wear away your teeth in seconds: Here’s how to protect your pearly whites from decay

You’re probably aware of eating too much sugar can cause bruises – i.e. damage to your teeth – as soon as you take your first sweet bite, you may be less familiar with how bacteria use these sugars to form a sticky film on your teeth called plaque.

Don’t write SpeechUniversity of Florida oral biology professors Jacqueline Abranches and José Lemos explain what happens in your mouth when sugar passes your lips and how to protect your teeth.

An acid drop

A few seconds after the first bite or sip of something sugary, Bacteria that make the human mouth their home Start using these dietary sugars to grow and multiply. These bacteria are in the process of converting sugars into energy. produces large amounts of acid. As a result, the acidity of your mouth increases just a minute or two after consuming high-sugar foods or drinks. Levels that can dissolve enamel — that is, the minerals that make up the surface of your teeth.

Fortunately, saliva comes to the rescue Before these acids begin to erode the surface of your teeth. It neutralizes acids in your mouth while removing excess sugars.

in your mouth too hosts other competing bacteria It battles decay-causing bacteria for resources and space, fighting them and restoring the acidity of your mouth to levels that won’t damage teeth.

But frequent consumption of sweets and sugary drinks can overfeed harmful bacteria in a way that neither saliva nor beneficial bacteria can overcome.

attack on enamel

Caries-causing bacteria also use dietary sugars. sticky layer called biofilm It acts like a castle attached to the teeth. Biofilms are very difficult to remove without mechanical forces, such as routinely brushing your teeth or cleaning at the dentist’s office.

In addition, biofilms form a physical barrier that restricts anything beyond their boundaries; so much so that saliva can no longer do its job of neutralizing the acid. Even worse, cavity-causing bacteria survive in these acidic conditionsThe good bacteria that fight them cannot do this.

In these protected strongholds, cavity-causing bacteria can continue to multiply, keeping the acidity level of the mouth high and leading to further loss of tooth minerals until the cavity becomes visible or painful.

How do you protect your (sweet) teeth?

Before you eat your next sugary treat, there are a few precautions you can take to help keep cavity-causing bacteria at bay and your teeth safe.

First of all, try to reduce the amount of sugar you eat and consume sugary foods or drinks during meals. In this way, increased saliva production while eating can help wash away sugars and neutralize acids in your mouth.

Also avoid sweets and sugary drinks throughout the day, especially snacks containing table sugar or high fructose corn syrup. Constantly exposing your mouth to sugar will keep the acidity level higher for longer.

Finally, don’t forget to brush regularly to remove as much dental plaque as possible. Daily flossing also helps remove plaque from areas your toothbrush cannot reach.

this story produced by Speech Reviewed and distributed by stacker.