a very minor question

[Yourbigpalal83]

Hey guys. Me again, dont worry, im not paranoid this time. In fact i got my cleaning due this monday and checkup (weather they want to give me a checkup or not. there is no way im coming back for a checkup just so they can bill me twice and make more money off of me)


Anyhow, as dentist, im wondering, whats your gram limit on sugar, meaning, at what point do you deside not to eat somthing based on how many grams of sugar its got?

Me, personaly i wont touch anything over 2 grams of sugar, and i only eat about 2 meals a day, and drink nothing but water! So, from my math, i figure, its next to impossable to get tooth decay. But, im also being a pain in the... with the way i eat, meaning next to nothing, so i want to know, is there a rule of thumb i can go by? Like, if its over this many grams, etc?

Just wondering

 

[annie778]

Hi pal I'm not a dentist but from what I've read it doesn't matter how much sugar you eat, it matters how often you eat it. So if you eat 5000 grams of sugar in five minutes (challenging but possible if you are very determined...) then that is better for your teeth than say eating 5 grams every fifteen minutes throughout the day. Apparently eating it with a meal is also better than eating it in between meals. Your teeth are already under attack during a meal and sugar is not the only problem (you have to be careful with acidic foods too).

Personally I avoid sugar as much as possible, because I don't like the idea of sugary residue lurking in the dark recesses of my mouth. I always imagine it seeping into places I can't reach with my brush. That's why I stopped taking it in tea years ago. As I have a chronic fear of anyone fiddling with my teeth I go out of my way to keep them as pristine as possible.

 

[letsconnect]

In my experience, roughly 66.67% of dentists are chocaholics ...

 

[Zzzdentist]

<munch munch quickly hides deep fried Mars chocolate bar under keyboard and wipes mouth with sleeve> Um, that's an interesting statistic! Chocolate syrup can also be quite an aphrodisiac in the bedroom , but ah ah just remember to brush, floss, and rinse it out of all those crevices (dental and otherwise!) before nap nap time.

Dentists also like ice cream, candy, pop, all that other good stuff. I don't think there's really a set limit unless you like to follow the nutritional dietary food guide for proper eating. I believe that as long as you are consuming the various foods and ingredients in moderation and just follow common sense things should be fine.

Your teeth were meant to be used so may as well enjoy some of the sweeter things in life. Not doing so would be kind of like having a nice sports car, but never going over 50 KPH in it. That would be quite a shame now, wouldn't it? But just like anything worth keeping, a little bit of regular care and maintenance will help make things last.

 

[Snowball]

I do wonder, though... I'm a health food freak, and recovering chocaholic, - one of those old hippies who eats wholefoods and nothing processed etc etc and am wondering if it might have saved my (organic) bacon so to speak, as after 20 years of dentist dodging, I've just been told I need only 1 extraction, a crown and some small fillings and my gums are alright. Had I been eating processed sugar and stuff for all of the past 20 years, not just some of it, maybe I wouldn't have escaped so lightly? Genetics don't come into it either as my mum, aunty, great aunts etc etc all had dentures before they were 20 (in my mum's case, at 16). Also told I had some 'arrested decay' that didn't need treatment, no doubt due to a diet change.

BTW, there is such a thing as a chocolate that does you less damage - raw chocolate! I buy it by the kilo! It has no added sugar or dairy - just pretty well cacao as it comes off the tree - very addictive, but you can justify it as a 'health food'.... Don't give you migraines, either!

 

[letsconnect]

Chocolate syrup can also be quite an aphrodisiac in the bedroom , but ah ah just remember to brush, floss, and rinse it out of all those crevices (dental and otherwise!) before nap nap time.

Thanks for the tip - much appreciated .

Your teeth were meant to be used so may as well enjoy some of the sweeter things in life. Not doing so would be kind of like having a nice sports car, but never going over 50 KPH in it. That would be quite a shame now, wouldn't it?

Great analogy...

Being fixated on sugar content will prevent you from eating foods which are actually very healthy, but do contain sugars. That can't be a good thing in the long run. As Zzz said, your teeth are meant to be used, and a healthy diet will always contain sugars.

Perhaps more importantly, I think there is a danger in living your life controlled by worries about your teeth - it must take a lot of time and effort to constantly think about it .

 

[brit]

Bigpalal
It might help you to remember that even carbohydrates get converted into sugars ...energy in your body and this is what is supposed to happen. As everyone else has said it is not really whether or how much sugar you eat but how often a day you eat it and what your oral hygiene regime is like which really helps, alongside other genetic factors outside our control.

Given that you have been following your rather restrictive regime for some time now, why don't you do an experiment whereby you relax things as indicated above straight after a check-up appointment for a period of 6 months and then see if you get a clean bill of health at the following check-up. If your oral hygiene is kept up, I'm guessing you would get the all-clear...pretty much however much you relaxed your diet within reason...do not though go back to carbonated drinks and lots of between meals eating...although the occasional snack should certainly be ok especially in an adult.

Food is one of life's great pleasures and it really doesseem to me that you are denying yourself when there is no need...you are now able to accept dental treatment and you have a dentist you are comfortable with so try to RELAX and LIGHTEN UP.

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

ive mellowed in the past 2 years. Im not as paranoid as i used to be! I just dont want to EVER get any more dental work other then a cleaning!

 

[Zzzdentist]

It sounds like you're doing much much better, Al. Good job! Keep it up!