Comments on: The Five Sugars That Hurt Your Teeth http://www.OralAnswers.com/2010/05/the-five-sugars-that-hurt-and-ruin-your-teeth/ A Dental Blog Focused on Improving Oral and Dental Health Sun, 05 Feb 2012 02:02:38 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Tom http://www.OralAnswers.com/2010/05/the-five-sugars-that-hurt-and-ruin-your-teeth/comment-page-1/#comment-9516 Tom Wed, 14 Sep 2011 01:28:10 +0000 http://www.OralAnswers.com/?p=974#comment-9516 Hi Jesper - I may not have been very clear above. I was trying to say that carbohydrates are made up of sugars. The word saccharide means sugar. Disaccharides and monosaccharides are commonly referred to as sugars. Polysaccharides (a chain of multiple sugars) are called starches or carbohydrates. My point in that was that carbohydrates are broken down into their component sugars in our bodies and can be broken down in our mouth by enzymes in our saliva. Research has shown that the frequency of sugar intake is more important than the amount of sugar when it comes to causing cavities. Some sugars are more harmful than others. Here's <a href="http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Doi=260235" rel="nofollow">one such study</a> that demonstrates this. Thanks for your comment, Jesper - Sorry for the lack of clarity above. Hi Jesper - I may not have been very clear above. I was trying to say that carbohydrates are made up of sugars. The word saccharide means sugar. Disaccharides and monosaccharides are commonly referred to as sugars. Polysaccharides (a chain of multiple sugars) are called starches or carbohydrates. My point in that was that carbohydrates are broken down into their component sugars in our bodies and can be broken down in our mouth by enzymes in our saliva.

Research has shown that the frequency of sugar intake is more important than the amount of sugar when it comes to causing cavities. Some sugars are more harmful than others. Here's one such study that demonstrates this.

Thanks for your comment, Jesper - Sorry for the lack of clarity above.

]]> By: Jesper http://www.OralAnswers.com/2010/05/the-five-sugars-that-hurt-and-ruin-your-teeth/comment-page-1/#comment-9512 Jesper Tue, 13 Sep 2011 21:40:10 +0000 http://www.OralAnswers.com/?p=974#comment-9512 carbohydrates aren't sugars, sugars are carbohydrates - big difference... Most carbohydrates are not sugars...sugars are a subgroup of carbohydrates. Sweetness is a subjective experience. HFCS, is just a corn syrup in which some of the glucose has been turned into fructose, most humans find fructose to be sweeter than glucose. Sweetness has nothing to do with how harmful a sugar is to our teeth. The acid produced by bacteria is simply a byproduct of their energy metabolism of sugars. I.e. all sugars that they break down via this process produce the same amount of acid in theory. So it is the sugar amount that is the problem not which sugar unless you can show that the bacteria in question can absorb certain sugars more efficiently or metabolise them quicker than others(this may very well be the case, I suspect it has not been investigated..). The alkalinity and buffer of the saliva is another factor that is important, if the saliva can neutralise the acid produced by the bacteria it wont hurt the teeth. carbohydrates aren't sugars, sugars are carbohydrates - big difference... Most carbohydrates are not sugars...sugars are a subgroup of carbohydrates. Sweetness is a subjective experience. HFCS, is just a corn syrup in which some of the glucose has been turned into fructose, most humans find fructose to be sweeter than glucose. Sweetness has nothing to do with how harmful a sugar is to our teeth. The acid produced by bacteria is simply a byproduct of their energy metabolism of sugars. I.e. all sugars that they break down via this process produce the same amount of acid in theory. So it is the sugar amount that is the problem not which sugar unless you can show that the bacteria in question can absorb certain sugars more efficiently or metabolise them quicker than others(this may very well be the case, I suspect it has not been investigated..).

The alkalinity and buffer of the saliva is another factor that is important, if the saliva can neutralise the acid produced by the bacteria it wont hurt the teeth.

]]> By: Tom http://www.OralAnswers.com/2010/05/the-five-sugars-that-hurt-and-ruin-your-teeth/comment-page-1/#comment-5762 Tom Mon, 02 May 2011 19:27:48 +0000 http://www.OralAnswers.com/?p=974#comment-5762 Hi Greg - Thanks for your comment. Any time your teeth are in pain, it's a good idea to ask your dentist about it to make sure that there aren't any problems that need to be dealt with. Good luck with your diet! Hi Greg - Thanks for your comment. Any time your teeth are in pain, it's a good idea to ask your dentist about it to make sure that there aren't any problems that need to be dealt with. Good luck with your diet!

]]> By: Greg http://www.OralAnswers.com/2010/05/the-five-sugars-that-hurt-and-ruin-your-teeth/comment-page-1/#comment-5625 Greg Fri, 29 Apr 2011 21:43:15 +0000 http://www.OralAnswers.com/?p=974#comment-5625 I've recently started eating a paleo diet and I've replaced a lot of my sucrose intake with fructose and glucose and my teeth has become a lot more sensitive but they feel clean. It's interesting that sucrose is converted into a glue for plaque to stick to our teeth. I've recently started eating a paleo diet and I've replaced a lot of my sucrose intake with fructose and glucose and my teeth has become a lot more sensitive but they feel clean. It's interesting that sucrose is converted into a glue for plaque to stick to our teeth.

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