We’ve all heard that sugar rots your teeth. But believe it or don’t, there may be something even worse: sugar and starch together. At least, that’s the case with root decay, according to a study just published in Caries Research. For it, researchers created typical dental biofilms – plaque – on slabs of root dentin. […]
sugar
Before You Drink That Orange Juice to “Protect Against the Flu”…
Not a day passes that you don’t see one news story or another about just how terrible this flu season is, stirring up a lot of anxiety. According to recent reports, this has more Americans reaching out for orange juice “in a frantic effort to avoid the illness.” Sales of the drink rose by 0.9%, […]
Fluoride Is No Silver Bullet Against Decay
An email alert recently brought our attention to some interesting new research on the effects of fluoride. Analyzing NHANES data, its author mapped out trends in caries (tooth decay), oral health related quality of life, and fluorosis among kids. Fluorosis is the result of too much fluoride. The teeth become spottily discolored and pitted. In […]
Have Dentists Come Down Too Hard on Dried Fruit?
What did Dr. Glaros learn in dental school that seems as true four decades later as it did back then? Here it is: “Avoid retentive, fermentable carbohydrates!” In other words, don’t eat the sticky, sugary stuff. “But what if it’s natural?” some folks might ask. Let’s look at fruit juice, for instance. It’s certainly natural […]
It Starts with Quitting the Sugar
We’ve said it before: If you want to keep your teeth healthy and whole for a lifetime, you’ve got to limit the sugar. It’s as simple as that. As one 2015 paper put it, Without sugars, the chain of causation is broken, so the disease does not occur. So a new study in the Journal […]
A New Must-Read: The Case Against Sugar
You’ve got to read Gary Taubes’ new book, The Case Against Sugar. As the title suggests, Taubes’ purpose is to present the case against sugar – both sucrose and high-fructose corn syrup – as the principal cause of the chronic diseases that are most likely to kill us, or at least accelerate our demise, in […]
It’s Beyond Time to Address the Root Cause of Tooth Decay
At their recent meeting, the ADA made a big to-do over the 70th anniversary of fluoridation. “This is the most effective weapon in dentistry, I believe, to prevent not only tooth decay but mouth disease in general and overall health,” stated Raymond Gist, DDS, past ADA president, in a press release. Quite a claim about […]
Added Sugars as “the Next Trans Fat”?
We know the FDA has its problems, from conflicts of interest to the stubborn refusal to acknowledge the science on mercury dental amalgam and finally put an end to the use of this antique dental material. But sometimes they do the right thing – like their recent decision to finally ban the use of artificial […]