Reducing your daily sugar intake can take some significant effort, but it is also well worthwhile.
Most of us have heard the advice about reducing sugar intake to improve our health. It honestly doesn’t matter what you’re trying to do; from losing weight to getting better sleep, decreasing your sugar intake can help. This is especially true if your goal is improving your oral health, but that doesn’t make it easy. Sugar is added to most packaged goods on the market today, even ones that don’t taste especially sweet. So reducing the amount of added sugar you consume in a day can take some significant effort, but it is also well worthwhile. Read on to learn more.
The Problem Of Added Sugar
Sugar is not inherently bad on its own. In fact, it is an important way to provide quick, dense, easily accessed energy to our bodies when they need it. How we consume sugar makes it a problem, however, especially for our teeth and gum health. We tend to eat a lot of sugar, and we do it all day long. This means that for most of the day, there is sugar in our mouths, feeding the bacteria that live there. When that bacteria consumes the sugar (for energy, like we do), it produces an acidic byproduct that causes tooth decay and gum irritation and can lead to significant oral health problems. Having bacteria in your mouth is normal, and not all bacteria are bad (or odor-causing), and brushing and flossing can’t remove it all. The best way to protect against the effects of bacteria is to limit how much fuel you’re feeding it, especially excessive sugar.
The Issue Of How
It’s not just about how much sugar you consume, and it is also about how you consume it. Eating one piece of candy like chocolate pretty quickly and washing it down with water is probably the best way to get that sugar fix that you sometimes crave. That way, the excess sugar mostly washes out of your mouth. If the candies are chewy or gummy, the sugar sticks to your teeth more and has longer to cause problems. If the sugar is in a soda or coffee drink, it takes longer to consume, and you’re reintroducing excess sugar over and over again over a more extended time. Remember that even stuff that isn’t sweet (especially things that are labeled as low fat) often have added sugar.
KEEP YOUR MOUTH HAPPY WITH ANNAPOLIS DENTAL CARE!
Whether it’s a regular check-up you need or a tooth extracted, your dentist in Annapolis is here to serve! Annapolis Dental Care has the expertise and compassion to work with you on improving your oral health. Your comfort and health are our top priorities, and so we go above and beyond to make our patients happy and give them the highest quality care. To set up an appointment today, please give us a call at 410-571-5014 or visit us online. For more oral health tips for you and your family, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube! We are always looking for new patients, so if you live in Arnold, Annapolis, Anne Arundel County, MD, come on down!