Are Crackers (Saltines, Cheeze It's, Goldfish) Worse for teeth then Candy?

[Yourbigpalal83]

Ok, bit of a panic attack here.

Durring the pandemic, i have not been to a dentist because i'm still nervous about being unmasked in public for long (I always wear a mask) and i am usually very pro tooth healthy when i chose my foods. I havent touched a drop of Soda since 2006. I only drink water, i rarely eat any sugary foods, etc but recently i was reading an article that said Crackers are worse for teeth then candy.

the past year or so I've been on a cracker binge. (Saltine Crackers with cheese cubes, cheeze its, goldfish) Now to be fair, i only eat once or twice a day (i dont need to eat any more as i dont get hungry and i dont snack throughout the course of the day) and i always rinse with water when im done and Floss and brush my teeth 45 minuets after eating every meal.

I should be in the clear for cavaties right? I put my dental heath above all things. Now i am overdue for a cleaning, but i havent noticed any signs of cavaties (I have dental OCD and i check my fillings and teeth almost daily and havent noticed anything new)

I really should start eating healthy and getting back to a much lower carb diet, but ive been severly stressed and depressed lately and crackers are a bit of a confort food.

After reading this article though i think crackers are going to join the do not touch list of foods like soda and sweets.

Thoughts?

-Al

 

[Gordon]

Yeah, that article was basically nonsense. Trying to categorise foods as "good" or "bad" for teeth is basically a massive over simplification, as ever, things are much more nuanced.
You'd need to look at the frequency of consumption, how long they spend in the mouth being chewed, how "sticky" the post-chewing debris is and so on.
Candy is a massively broad brush term too, a small square of black chocolate would be much less harmful in the long run than a handful of very chewy toffee for instance.

Short answer: Don't snack excessively between meals and you'll be fine

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

@Gordon as I suspected. Like i know enough about teeth and decay to know its how long the food stays on the teeth and all that but i just wanted to be sure and get it directly from a dentist.

Im still going to be giving up crackers though. Too much salt and carbs but again Gordon ur there to calm my dental anxieties when they get crazy.

Thank you my friend.
-Al

 

[Gordon]

Any time buddy.

Trouble with crackers is that you can pile in a lot of calories quickly and don't really feel satisfied/full after eating them... as you say, loads of salt and carbs too.

 

[Yourbigpalal83]

Thanks for the support my friend. I'm trying to give up the junk food. But sadly here in the US the junk food is far more abundant and affordable then the healthy food.

 

[Gordon]

I know what you mean. You have to really go out of your way to get the good stuff here too.