More tooth problems, how can dental bridges cost £650?

brook2jack

Both peanut better and bread have sugar in them . Muesli is high in sugar but as that's a meal don't worry it's what you are eating and drinking between meals that's a problem.

Yoghurt is packed with sugar.

In general if you don't do anything to fruit it's not a problem but juice it or dry it ( eg raisins) and it will decay teeth as easily as refined sugar.

Tea and coffee are fine, except if it's a fruit tea (high in sugar and acid) or certain herbal teas.

Unless you have a very rare condition you will not have inheireted weak teeth from your parents but you might have inheireted poor dietary and cleaning practices.

Stress doesn't weaken teeth but poor eating and drinking habits influenced by stress will.

Undervalued

According to Stephen Fry on a recent episode of QI, starch in things like potato crisps collecting around your gums can be more harmful to teeth than sugar!

I don't know what the dentists' views are?

brook2jack

All starches and particularly highly processed starches such as in crisps can be used by the bacteria in plaque to create acid which is what causes dental decay.

All sticky foods ,eg not only crisps but eg from raisins and dried fruit, mean the source of fuel for the bacteria remains on the teeth for longer so can cause decay for longer.

mal4mac

Well here's Stacey Bell DSc (Harvard Medical School) disagreeing with you about raisins, brook:

"Consumption of a poor diet, particularly one rich in sugary foods, can cause dental caries despite fluoridation. What constitutes a healthy diet that augments good dental hygiene? Most carbohydrate-containing foods precipitate the formation of caries, and those that adhere to the teeth (i.e., sticky) are thought to be the worst offenders. Paradoxically, raisins possess both of these characteristics, but do not induce dental caries."

"children aged 2 to 5 years who had the best dietary practices were 44% less likely to exhibit severe early childhood caries (ECC) compared to those consuming a poorer diet.6 The children with the best teeth, compared to those in the worse group, ate more fruit, dairy products, and grains. Fruits were singled out as being particularly effective at interfering with plaque formation, because they reduce the production of acids from oral bacteria. It is thought that the high polyphenol and fiber in fruits is the reason for the unique benefit. Eating a healthy diet also provides teeth the necessary nutrients to maintain their strength"

" research group at the Forsyth Institute in Boston asked consumers to rate the stickiness of 21 foods to see if they could figure out which foods to avoid. These ratings were then compared to actual stickiness, using standardized methodology, which measured the retention time of food on a tooth.
Consumer perception was that caramels, jelly beans, and filled chocolates were considered most sticky. Apples were thought to be the least; many of the other foods in the middle range of stickiness were ranked very close to each other. These included dried figs, milk chocolate bars, raisins, granola bars, cream sandwich cookies, cream-filled sponge cake, and oatmeal cookies.
Specifically, raisins ranked ninth of the 21 foods. Paradoxically, those rated as most sticky (caramels and jelly beans) were among those least retained. Instead, some perceived as low stickiness – potato chips, salted crackers, and sugared cereal flakes – had longer retention times. Although raisins were perceived to be as sticky as granola bars, cream sandwich cookies, and oatmeal cookies, they had only 14% as much retention as these other foods.
These data emphasize that consumers do not have adequate knowledge to determine which foods are sticky and should be avoided."

"raisins would be a good choice because they were deemed to be less sticky than many other foods.2 Raisins are a healthy food to include with a meal or use as a snack, because they are low-fat, high-fiber, and contain the same healthy polyphenols as grapes."

This is important to me as I eat raisins daily, either in muesli or added to my porridge. I also add banana most days, which may or may not be more of a problem...

Why is eating sugar with meals not a problem? I sometimes have a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, how can that have a different effect than the same sandwich with my morning cuppa?

brook2jack

Of course she would say that she works for the California raisin marketing board!!!!! http://calraisins.org/nutrition-research-panel/

It is slightly contentious but advice is still don't use raisins as a snack https://www.bda.org/dentists/policy-campaigns/public-health-science/public-health/Documents/Hot%20Topic%20-%20Sugar%202015.pdf

It is not how much sugar you eat or drink but how often. Your breakfast , lunch and dinner are bound to have some sugar in already (perhaps hidden sugars eg in raisins, yogurts, peanut butter , sauces etc) so extra sugar here won't matter to your teeth it all counts as one sugar attack.

It's what you eat and drink in between meals that will add to the frequency of sugar attacks, even if it's just a mouthful or sip. It will take an hour for the acid from that mouthful or sip of something with sugar in it to go.

So it's really important to make sure you don't eat or drink sugary things in between meals

mal4mac

Raisin marketing board - well tracked down! Can't even trust a DSc from Harvard Medical School... OK I'm having raisins only with breakfast, so I think I'm safe.

So if I move my 100% peanut butter with wholemeal bread snack to breakfast, lunch and dinner, and away from my three snack times, that should reduce decay? Then I can just have plain tea and coffee. Then again, tea and coffee has milk, should I take it black?

You said some herb teas are bad - what about camomile?

brook2jack

Cows Milk and camomile tea are fine.