Is Candy Bad for Oral Health?

Whether you like chocolate peanut butter, fruity hard candy, or chewy sour candy, you may wonder what those sweet treats are doing to your oral health. Unfortunately, candy isn’t good for your oral health. It increases your risk of decay and gum disease. While it’s okay to indulge in candy occasionally, you want to limit your intake, as noted by our dentists at Parkside Family Dental, serving Cary, NC, and the nearby region.

Candy & Tooth Decay

Neither candy nor sugar directly causes tooth decay, the softening of your tooth enamel that can lead to cavities. However, sugar from the candy feeds the bacteria in your mouth. These bacteria are the harmful ones that produce acid as their waste product, which results in damage to your tooth enamel.

Candy & Gum Disease

Sugar from candy doesn’t directly cause gum disease, either. However, if you consume high amounts of sugar, you’re feeding the bacteria that lurks around your gum line and causes gum disease. These bacteria irritate your gums and cause them to become swollen.

Sugar Alters Your Mouth’s Acidity

Additionally, sugar changes your mouth’s acidity. When your mouth has a normal PH level, which is low, you promote good oral health. When you have slightly too much acid in your mouth, you brush it away. When you eat candy, your saliva interacts with the sugar in your mouth. As it does, it breaks the sugar down. When the bacteria mix with the sugar, it increases the acid levels in your mouth.

Sugar Sticks to Teeth

Unfortunately, the refined sugar from candy leaves a sticky residue on your teeth. Your saliva isn’t powerful enough to remove that bond from your teeth. Therefore, the sugar remains on your teeth and has a higher chance of causing negative effects.

Sour Is Worse

Sour candy might not taste sweet to you, but it contains a specialized sugar and contains acids. The sugar causes all of the aforementioned negatives while the acid works to weaken your enamel as well.

Sugar is harmful to your teeth, plain and simple. You can enjoy it occasionally, especially if you brush after, because your enamel goes through a remineralization process. When you eat too much candy, you don’t give your teeth time to rebuild and you could be at a greater risk for cavities and gum disease.

Visit Us at Parkside Family Dental!

Besides limiting candy, schedule an appointment for a routine cleaning with Parkside Family Dental, serving Cary, NC, and the general vicinity, as another way to keep your teeth healthy, by calling us at 919-935-0385.