What Are the Worst Foods and Drinks for Our Teeth?
In some parts of the world, children are told to brush their teeth to keep the tooth fairy happy — because she will come to collect those teeth when they fall out, and she may even leave some money behind!
But whether you believe in fairies or not, we can all agree that keeping our teeth clean is important.
So what do experts say are the worst foods and drinks for our teeth?
Anything that contains sugar or sucrose is bad for our teeth, because the bad bacteria in our mouths love it.
These bacteria break down foods and drinks and turn them into acids that damage our teeth over time.
According to US dentist Rocio Quinonez, our teeth begin to get damaged when the acid level in our mouth goes below a pH of 5.5.
Carbonated drinks often have a pH of 3 or 4, she told The New York Times. And fruit juices aren't much better.
Dentists say it's better to eat our fruit, not drink it — but chewy dried fruits can cause the same problems as chewy sweets.
They can easily get stuck on or between our teeth, and if we don't brush quickly, with the help of bad bacteria, our mouths can keep producing acid for a long time after we've eaten.
Some experts even say we shouldn't be eating too many fruits like oranges or bananas because of the damage the sugars and acids in them can do. But others say these fruits are still too good for our health to stop eating them.
To keep our teeth healthy, the American Dental Association says we should brush them twice a day, clean between them once a day, get checked by a dentist regularly, and try not to have too many sweet foods or drinks.
1. Do you find any of the information from the article surprising?
2. Do you drink a lot of carbonated beverages? Has this changed over the years?
3. What are some of your favorite sweet foods?
4. Do you try to avoid things that are bad for your teeth?
5. Were you told about the tooth fairy when you were a kid?
6. Do you like going to the dentist? Do you know anyone who's afraid of going?
7. Have you had the same dentist for many years?
8. Is dental care expensive in your country?
9. Do you know anyone who works as a dentist? Do they like their job?
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