Could Healthy Eating Damage Your Teeth?

Are you suddenly getting cavities and can't figure out what's causing them? Dentists can, and they say the culprits could be things you think are improving your health.

Suzanne Walters is a self-proclaimed antacid addict. "I was using six or eight a day, two at a time." "I never realized what it was doing to me," she adds.

During a recent trip to her dentist, Suzanne discovered to her dismay that the heartburn-soothing tablets had damaged her teeth. However, she wasn't alone. Her doctor, Dr. Vincent Chiara, had several patients who suddenly developed cavities. To find the cause, he took a hard look at his patients' daily eating habits.

"What we found is that a lot of things have sugar in them, and people don't realize it, and they are using quite a bit of this stuff," says Dr. Chiara.


Antacids, breath mints, sore throat lozenges and cough drops all contain sugar in one form or another. "What it will generally say is sucrose or dextrose. It doesn't usually say sugar. We saw one that said corn syrup on the label, and these are all just sugar," Chiara continues.

Doctor Gary Drahos at UIC's College of Dentistry says bacteria normally found in the mouth use sugar to produce an acid which then eats through tooth enamel. Sucking on mints for several minutes produces enough acid to keep doing damage long after the lozenge dissolves away. That spells trouble in a very vulnerable part of the mouth.

"The area of the tooth where the lozenge is held is usually the thinnest area of the enamel that protects the teeth," says Dr. Drahos.

Dentists say there are steps you can take to keep your teeth healthy. Choose sugar-free versions, and limit how many tablets or lozenges you use a day. Also, brush your teeth often. If that's not possible, at least rinse your mouth with water.

It's advice Suzanne has put into action. "Okay, doing very well. Things have certainly improved since we discovered what was going on."

Sugary sodas can cause the same kind of problem because we tend to sip those little by little all day long. Adding to the problem, believe it or not, more of us are choosing bottled water over tap water, so we're getting less protective fluoride.