Junk-Food...You Are What You Eat !

[Beth Andrea]

Kia Ora,

All this has brought back 'sweet' memories...[of tooth decay]

Back in the 1950 and 60s the local 'toffee apple' man would peddle around the streets ring his bike bell and shouting "Nice toffee apples for sale!"

So one would first have to eat through the sweet toffee teeth-rotting 'junk' to get to the more 'healthy' apple...I think in the US they called it a candy apple...

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Caramel apples 

We used to buy the kits to make them, but us kids would just snake all the caramels and disregard the apples...

Btw, the teeth rotted not because of the sugars, but because of the poor dental hygiene of the era. I remember the old Crest toothpaste commercials, "Look Mom! Only one cavity!" Of course, over the course of 10-20 years...that's a mouthful of cavities.

Toothpaste does its part, it cleans the visible parts of the teeth...but one definitely needs to FLOSS as well. And which teeth should one floss?  Only the ones you want to keep...

I went for 3 years as an adult without seeing a dentist even once for a cleaning or checkup....knowing I'd be in that situation, I'd asked my dentist what I should do to help avoid cavities...he said, "Be sure to floss and brush every day, at least once, preferably twice." I added a rinse of hydrogen peroxide (including a second brushing with it)...and after the 3 years, I had incredibly healthy teeth, gums, and mouth! Teeth were the whitest they'd ever been, absolutely no sign of decay (despite drinking 3-4 Cokes a day, never mind having a King Size chocolate bar also)...so yeah, proper oral hygiene is what helps (or hurts, if you don't do it).

[Anatta]

Kia Ora,

I totally agree one should always take care of their teeth[Don't leave home without them]

Considering the junk I ate as a child, I was fortunate to be blessed with a good set of teeth...I developed the habit of brushing twice a day and flossing[well flossing when I remember to-which is usually around 4 or 5 times a week ]   However...

Diet and Tooth Decay
There is a direct and well-established link between your diet and your chances of getting tooth decay.

As soon as you eat certain foods, your teeth are placed under attack.  In the case of decay, this attack is not from the food itself but from bacteria in your mouth.  The bacteria use the foods for energy and release acid as a by-product.  It is this acid that causes tooth decay.  This is where the phrase 'acid-attack' comes from.

Certain foods will be easier for the bacteria to use and therefore give rise to acid-attack of the teeth.
Simple sugars such as glucose and fructose are the worst.  Most people know that such foods e.g. sugar, chocolate, candy, soft drinks and toffee are the main culprits in harming the teeth.


Read more http://dentalcarematters.com/diet-for-healthy-teeth/

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