Diet Analysis and Advice

Everytime you eat or drink something containing sugar, your teeth soften for approximately 2 hours. The frequency and amount of sugary foods and acidic drinks should be reduced and restricted to mealtimes.

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Top Tips

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• Don't snack in between meals.

• If you have to snack the best foods are savoury such as: raw carrots, cucumber, celery and peppers, chunk of cheese, plain cheese biscuit such as oat cakes, bread sticks, rice cakes, plain crisps, crumpets, pitta bread.

• Drink plain tap water or tea/coffee without sugar in between meals.

• Don't eat sugary foods within an hour of bedtime.

• Chewing sugar free gum after eating may help to increase the salivary flow which helps the teeth to repair themselves.

• Check the packaging of foods and drinks you consume for sugar content (anything ending in –OSE e.g. sucrose/fructose) and hidden sugars. Tomatao ketchup, mayonnaise, crisps and baked beans are glucose, sucrose, fructose etc.

• Fizzy drinks, fruit squashes (including those that say 'no added sugar'), fruit juice and smoothies will all cause decay and acid erosion.

• Fresh fruit should be eaten at meal times ideally. Some fruits such as bananas cause a lot of decay and citrus fruits can cause decay and acid erosion of the teeth.

• Avoid tablets high in sugars e.g. antacids, breath mints or cough lozenges. These can be particularly damaging

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What we can offer

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• We recommend booking an appointment with our hygienist who can assess your diet and appropriate advice.

• If required, special assessments like saliva tests and blood tests to detect systemic inflammation and its importance in maintaining general as well as periodontal (gum) health can also be discussed.