Attack of the Sugar Bug!
Every day I have the same conversation that goes something like this…
Patient- “Doc, I brush my teeth twice a day and floss. Why do I keep getting cavities?”
Me- “Are you sipping on something that has sugar in it all day? Like Sun Drop or Gatorade?”
Patient- “Yes, but I brush my teeth in the morning and night”
This conversation leads me to ask this question, what causes cavities? Bad teeth? Bad genes? An AWAL tooth fairy? Nope, it’s the sugar bug (also known as Step Mutans). So here is a quick breakdown of how you get cavities.
So here’s the little secret that no one knows. All the damage to your teeth from sugar happens within 10-15 minutes of you taking in that sugar! What does this really mean? It means that if you haven’t brushed your teeth within 10-15 minutes of taking in sugar…the damage is done. If you do that a couple of times a day it’s no big deal. But if you take a sip of Sun Drop every couple of minutes throughout the whole day YOU’RE KILLING YOUR TEETH!
So here’s the big picture take-home message:
It’s FREQUENCY of sugar intake that causes cavities, NOT QUANTITY.
If you go and down a 2 liter of Sun Drop, but brush right after…you didn’t damage your teeth that much. But if you sip on a 12 ounce can of Sun Drop for 3 hours…you better have this number memorized----270-366-0735, because you’re going to be seeing a lot of me!
Patient- “Doc, I brush my teeth twice a day and floss. Why do I keep getting cavities?”
Me- “Are you sipping on something that has sugar in it all day? Like Sun Drop or Gatorade?”
Patient- “Yes, but I brush my teeth in the morning and night”
This conversation leads me to ask this question, what causes cavities? Bad teeth? Bad genes? An AWAL tooth fairy? Nope, it’s the sugar bug (also known as Step Mutans). So here is a quick breakdown of how you get cavities.
So here’s the little secret that no one knows. All the damage to your teeth from sugar happens within 10-15 minutes of you taking in that sugar! What does this really mean? It means that if you haven’t brushed your teeth within 10-15 minutes of taking in sugar…the damage is done. If you do that a couple of times a day it’s no big deal. But if you take a sip of Sun Drop every couple of minutes throughout the whole day YOU’RE KILLING YOUR TEETH!
So here’s the big picture take-home message:
It’s FREQUENCY of sugar intake that causes cavities, NOT QUANTITY.
If you go and down a 2 liter of Sun Drop, but brush right after…you didn’t damage your teeth that much. But if you sip on a 12 ounce can of Sun Drop for 3 hours…you better have this number memorized----270-366-0735, because you’re going to be seeing a lot of me!