How does sugar affect my teeth?
Although we all like to eat sweets and sugary food, an excess of sugar in your diet can be a source of damage to your teeth. Sugar is a favourite food for bacteria to grow on your teeth. When the sugar intake in our diet exceeds normal limits it encourages the natural bacteria that is found in our oral cavity to grow and develop from their normal healthy value to an unhealthy extent by developing a layer of biofilm on your tooth enamel.
There are several effects of this biofilm developed by sugar on your teeth. This biofilm slowly develops and starts tooth decay. When the tooth enamel continually gets exposed to biofilm and sugars, it starts to get weak and hollow spaces start to develop in it that are known as caries. If caries is not treated on time, they can also affect the deeper layers of your tooth that can lead to irreversible pulpitis that will require more extensive treatments.
The more sugary intake, the more it will cause dental problems. The biofilm that is formed by sugar not only causes caries but it also leads to the formation of dental plaque, calculus or even stains that causes the formation of an external layer of debris on your teeth. This layer gives your teeth a yellowish tinge or blackish stains if left untreated for a long time. Calculus can not be removed by brushing but only a dental practitioner can remove it by scaling.
The bacteria not only affects your teeth but also gums. Excessive sugar intake can lead to gum disease that include reddish, swollen, and bleeding gums. Moreover too much sugar consumption can serious health problems.
To avoid all of these diseases all you need is to lessen the amount of sugar intake in your daily routine and maintain your oral hygiene.
Visit our Southern Delaware Dental Specialists office for your regular dental checkups for a healthy mouth.