Most common disease on the planet??
We have all seen Colgate and Oral B commercials – promising to fight tooth decay and keep your teeth healthy. We have all heard about the apple a day, keep the doctor away story. Well, yes, technically that’s all true, but that’s only one small aspect. Patients at dentist Corio, coming in for a routine check-up often find out that they have multiple rotten teeth or dental decay. They are always surprised and always swear that they have been doing everything right. Some of the things we always hear are:
“I don’t eat sweets”
“I am vegan and very conscious about what I eat”
“I brush my teeth twice a day”
“I use an electric toothbrush, twice a day”
“I floss my teeth”
“I don’t eat junk food”
“I cook all my own meals”
“I have regular dental check ups”
Why do I still have dental cavities? Dentist Corio explains
Great question! The answer 9/10 times is – sneaky sugars! Sneaky sugars are those ingredients which are often NOT called “sugar” in the ingredients list and may appear in savoury foods.
At Corio Central Dental, we find that a lot of patients often feel quite resistant to have a conversation about their diet. This is ESPECIALLY true for the health conscious patients. Eating healthy foods and eliminating desserts and/or junk food, DOES NOT mean your diet is good for your teeth. You are still at risk of dental decay if you eat healthy. Dentist Corio has come up with the list below.
10 Foods Which You Would Not Expect to Cause Dental Decay:
- pasta sauce (most contain sugar)
- 100% fruit juice (most have added sugar and/or acid)
- vitamin/flavoured water (definitely has sugar)
- flavoured popcorn (definitely sticky sugar)
- muesli bars (definitely sticky sugars, even the really healthy ones!)
- yoghurt (most have sugar. ‘No added sugars’ types still have sweeteners which cause dental decay)
- breath mints (the ones that contain sugar)
- chewing gum (some brands still add sugar)
- milk – YES, there is sugar in some brands of milk (dairy and plant both)
- savoury biscuits (check the ingredients, you will be surprised!)
A great way to find out if your diet is good for your teeth is to keep a food diary for a typical week (weekdays and weekend) and then come see us. Dentist Corio will go through it together and break it down for you, making some great suggestions, on how you can still eat what you like but ensure that your teeth stay healthy.
A great film to watch is That Sugar Film, it will make you think about “eating healthy” in an entirely different way.
