From a young age, you likely have heard that eating too much candy can hurt your teeth. This warning still holds true. If you consume a lot of sugar, you can face consequences for your oral health.
When sugar meets the saliva in your mouth, the substance becomes acidic and tends to linger on your teeth. The acidic environment will begin to eat away at your tooth enamel, the outer layer of the teeth. This weakens the structure of your teeth, putting you in danger of many dental problems.
You should heed your dentist’s recommendation to limit the amount of sugar in your diet if you want to protect your smile. Learn more about the potential dangers of added sugar when it comes to your dental health by reading on.
Oral Health Risks from Excess Sugar Consumption
As mentioned, the acidity of sugar in your mouth can lead to enamel erosion. Damaged and thinned enamel cannot regenerate or restore itself. You will need to talk to your dentist to find a way to replace severely worn enamel and restore your dental structure.
If you suffer from this weakening in your teeth, you can face a greater risk of cavities. Natural oral bacteria can find weak spots in your teeth and begin to eat away at dental structure, creating a problem known as tooth decay. When decay wears a hole into the tooth, this is a cavity. You will need a dentist to treat this problem.
You may also notice cosmetic damage in your smile after suffering dental erosion due to sugar in your diet. Your teeth may appear yellow where enamel thins and exposes the inner dentin layer of your tooth. Weakened enamel might also look translucent, disrupting the even and white finish you may desire for your smile.
Some people may also feel tooth sensitivity if enamel erosion exposes nerves within the tooth’s dentin. You will need your dentist to stop this uncomfortable symptom and restore the look, health, and structure of your smile.
How to Keep Your Smile Healthy
Since sugar can cause serious issues with your dental health, you should limit or avoid added sugar in your diet. Pay attention to the foods and beverages that you consume, especially their sugar content. Consider replacing sugary items with alternative flavorful options that will not harm your smile.
You can also keep your teeth strong enough to resist potential damage from sugar with proper care and maintenance. This means sticking to a consistent oral hygiene regimen at home. When you remove harmful plaque and other particles from your teeth in a timely fashion, you ensure that they do not weaken your smile and make your teeth vulnerable.
Good oral hygiene will also mean attending cleanings and check-ups at your dentist’s office. At-home care alone cannot keep your teeth looking and feeling their best at all times. Your dentist will check your smile for signs of damage and also ensure your teeth stay clean and healthy.