For consumers / Nutrition and caries

Nutrition and caries

Everyone loves sweets and no amount of friendly advice against the dangers of too much sugar will change this fact! A risk of caries depends on the frequency and length of sugar consumption and on how often the teeth come into contact with the acids that are present in plaque.

This pH-graph demonstrates the risk of the individual eating pattern.

Frequent sugar consumption leads to caries

As soon as the pH-rate reaches the red area, the teeth are affected by destructive acids. If the level of acid concentration is below the pH 5.7 threshold, tooth enamel is demineralised. If the acid attack (caused by sugary snacks and drinks) is repeated several times a day, saliva cannot naturally demineralise tooth enamel.

Frequent consumption of sugar between meals increases the risk of caries, especially if teeth are not brushed afterwards!

Regular tooth brushing and toothfriendly sweets = healthy teeth

Therefore the rule is as follows: Restrict sugar consumption to one pudding a day and brush your teeth afterwards. At other times have one of the many possible tasty snacks that are harmless to your teeth, e.g. raw vegetable, fresh fruit, whole wheat bread, cheese, nuts, milk, mineral water or tea without sugar.

Toothfriendly sweets do not contain sugar. Therefore, they are suitable for the tiny appetite between meals and stimulating the salivary flow to promote the natural remineralisation. In order to be sure if a product is in fact toothfriendly, it must pass a standardised pH telemetry test: "sugarfree" does not inevitably mean toothfriendly!