Diet Advice

We all love our sweets! Chocolate, lollies, cakes, soft drink, you name it! These, like many other foods/drinks, have the obvious sugar that causes decay. However, there are a lot of hidden sugars in other foods and drinks that you may not know about which causes decay. 

At Siana Dental we see patients that are confused as to why they or their children have decay, even though they are eating a healthy diet. We take our time to understand and take a thorough diet history. We instruct our patients to keep a diet diary to record what they eat/drink throughout the day for a 1 week period.

It’s usually the hidden sugars, acid and/or frequency at which they are consumed which cause decay. When you eat or drink something sweet or acidic, the PH of your mouth drops then the decay process starts. If you are constantly eating or drinking sweets throughout the day, the PH of your mouth will remain low so the decay process is continuing. 

Hidden sugars are in foods and drinks such as tomato and pasta sauces, salad dressings, yoghurt, sport drinks, breakfast cereals, muesli bars, some fruit juices, dried fruits, milk, coffee sachets and the list goes on. Everyone’s consumption will be different, so it’s important to discuss with us what you eat and drink so we can help you reduce your risk of decay. This even applies to most fizzy drinks (even sparkling water and soda stream)

Best tips to restore your mouth PH during the day and reduce decay risk are:

• Reduce the amount of times you snack between meals
• Reduce amounts of sweets in your diet. Drink mainly water and avoid sugar in tea and coffee
• Sip on water at every hour and after every meal 
• Brush and floss morning and night time with fluoride toothpaste. 

Speak to our team at Siana Dental about your diet and we will work with you to identify the sugars in your diet. You may be surprised. Don’t leave it too long because decay is common. Early detection of decay and control of the causes, helps to avoid complicated treatments. We may even prevent the need for fillings or more invasive and expensive dental treatments.