Diet and Teeth

Would you put 13 teaspoons of sugar in your tea, coffee or hot chocolate? That's how much sugar's in a can of soft drink. And sugar rots teeth.

Watch out! There's something else! Acid! It's in all soft drinks - including fruit juice and sports drinks - acid rots teeth too.

Help keep your teeth decay free- drink more water, drink less soft drink.
What's one of the worst things you can do for your teeth? Sucking lollies. Why? It's too much sugar for too long.
Always snack on healthy foods such as fresh fruit, cheese, celery and carrot sticks - they're cheaper and better for you than sweets.
Saliva helps keep your teeth clean - sugary foods and soft drinks stop saliva working properly. In between cleaning you can use sugar-free chewing gum. It helps make saliva to fight the effects of acid and sugar.

What sugar does to teeth

Sugar creates a situation where tooth enamel is attacked by bacteria.

Our saliva can help the enamel stand up against the bacteria, but not if too much sugar has been consumed.
Fluoride actually helps saliva do its job of patching tooth enamel attacked by bacteria. This process is called remineralisation and it works no matter how old you are.
The best way to help your teeth is to avoid excessive sugar consumption.

What acid in soft drinks does to teeth

The first thing to understand is all soft drink, including sports and diet drinks, contain acid.
This acid erodes tooth enamel and makes it thinner and at great risk of decay.
Excessive consumption of soft drink does not let saliva do its job of protecting tooth enamel.
If you're thirsty, drink water - avoid excessive soft drink consumption.

REMEMBER, PARTY FOOD AND DRINK IS FOR SPECIAL OCCASIONS NOT FOR EVERYDAY CONSUMPTION.