What happens to your teeth when you eat sweets?

I saw so many kids after school today spending their pocket money on sweets. Although a sugary sweet certainly tastes great, we all know eating too much sugar can lead to tooth decay, but few are exactly aware of how this happens.

It’s not the sugar itself that does the damage, but rather the chain of events that takes place after you eat that sticky sweet. Your children may be more inclined to head your warnings about the effects of sugar on teeth if they know about the continuous tug-of-war taking place inside their mouths.

The mouth is full of hundreds of bacteria, many of which are beneficial to the oral ecosystem. However, certain harmful oral bacteria actually feed on the sugars you eat to create acids that destroy the tooth enamel, which is the shiny protective outer layer of the tooth. Cavities are a bacterial infection created by acids, that cause your teeth to experience a hole in them. Without treatment, cavities can progress past the enamel and into the deeper layers of the tooth, causing pain and possible tooth loss.

And remember, you only get two sets of teeth. Once damaged, they will never be the same again!