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The Anti-Cavity Diet

Researchers are moving away from singling out sugar as the sole cavity causer. They have focused in on a number of dietary factors that can also trigger decay.

Time-Released Sugar Action

Studies indicate that neither the total amount nor the intensity of sugar in food has a direct relationship to the number of cavities you may get. If you were to eat a pound of candy in one sitting, it would do less damage to your teeth than eating it over a few-hour stretch. The reason: Sugar damage is time-released. Mouth bacteria begin to work on sugar almost immediately to produce decay-causing acids for about 20 minutes each and every time you eat sugar. Whether you eat one or a hundred pieces of candy at a time, you still get the 20-minute acid attack. If you spread candy eating over a day, you get multiple attacks that promote decay.

Eat Sugar with Meals

Foods containing sugar should be consumed at meal times, when saliva flow is at it peak. Saliva is nature’s own toothbrush — it has a natural buffering effect on mouth acids. When sugar is restricted to meals, teeth are exposed to the 20-minute acid bath only three times a day when saliva copes best.

How you eat sugar is just as important in preventing cavities as when you eat it. Sticky foods, such as dried fruits, cling to teeth and provide a long-lasting fuel supply for mouth bacteria. Remember this rule: Eat sugar with meals, Brush and floss afterwards.

Additional Tips

• Fiber: High fiber foods, such as vegetables like celery, lettuce and cucumbers, seem to promote a stronger cleanser action and increase salivary flow.
• Cheese sugar chaser: Cheese may be tooth-protective when eaten along with sugar-charged foods. Eat a cube as a snack chaser to a sugary food.
• Choose chocolate: Over other sweets. Chocolate may actually be less harmful to your teeth than other sweets — especially if eaten with a meal.
• Sugarless cavity savers: Some artificial sweeteners do not cause cavities.

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