C10 - Wednesday, May 2, 1984 - North Shore News

Don’t just cut down on calories,
save your teeth from sugar, too

SLOROSE  - table sugag
remains the most widely used
sweetener tO make foods,
beverages and most drug pro-
ducts’ more palatable
Calorie Con
summers reach for the “sugar
free’ products on the super
market or drug store shelf
but there is another, perhaps
mofe important reason to
congider these alternatives Co
sucrose-sweetened tood
stults and drugs teeth!
The decay -causing bacteria
mothe mouth thrive oon
sucrose, but thes do not tiad
“SURGE

VORSCIOUS

substitutes) anywhere

Ned as appetizing And just
ds SOIC SWeelChers Save
edlories, and others not,

some sweeteners do a better
gob oof helping to fight the
eduses Of tooth decay than
others da

Bacteria ois) particularly
dense in the mouth, but only
certain microorganisms are
responsible for causing den
tal decay The main decay
causing organism ois) strep
(Ogoccus mutans which thrive
on sucrose They interact
with the oral microflora,
lowering the pH, and create a
highty acidic environment in

which demineralization ot
the tooth enamel proceeds
rapidly

The non-nutritive synthetic
sweeteners saccharin and the
eyclamates dre calorie-savers
and sate tor teeth, but their
overall safety as in question

Among the nutritive
sweeteners commonly used
are sorbitol and mannitol

Thev have tewer calories and
ate less harmtulto teeth The
rate Of acid production in the
mouth iw slower with eiabher
Sweetener but thes.
nonetheless, can be
fermented  bvoral
SEPO PLO COG CUS

hacteria
mutans oan

dadapl fo these substances
ove) bra and tbs pap ula rans
Cah CVC BEOW

NX natural sweetener four
wn MUI beytas fruits
sepetables tas beer proven on
clita ab pesca bh tobe sate ber
reeth Ny titel at nN
Sereda be por by tya ae
meth aberltsry the beds ote ates
Petween SPS pratms of ai oa
has cabritbot be Permit.
Bey (he onal rotbora te pores
Sia tartan etd thorn bee
re barboorbr eed tes ber an proby sane

No bitod
Phe pobd rar thee ead

Peatads ceuttabiocs

atv atid

liageetatrabs oat oat ate

GIVE

atid

and

avid-tree level. and decreases
the amount and quality of
plaque

In addition, microhardness
tests indicate that xylitol at-
fects remineralization of the
tooth enamel tt has been
shown to trigger the mouth’s
natural defence mechanisms
wvlitol-sweetened chewing

gum stimulates saliva pro
duction to help clear the
mouth of sugar and decay.

causing bacteria taster
using a Cooth brush

than

Mylitol looks and tastes
hike sucrose and has the same
nutriaave and calorie values
Its produced on a large seale
from wxylan-rich raw
materials, such as the wood
of birch trees and the hard-

wood chips and = shavings
from the furniture and
plywood industries. The

xylan is purified to produce
xylitol.

Sucrose is the prime cause
of tooth decay and some
substitutes lessen the risk. so

pay caretul attention to the
information on the label
when reaching for a ‘sugar-
tree’ product.

Consider, too, that) con-
trary to common beliet, it 1s
not the amount of ‘sugar’
consumed that increases the
risk of tooth decay. In fact,
‘sugar’ eaten at meal times in
the form of desserts 1s far less
harmful than the ‘sugar’
eaten between meals in the
torm of ‘snacks’ or ‘treats’.

Candies, tottees or chew-

ing gum that remain in closet
contact with tooth surfaces

for a prolonged period of

time result in the production
of acids that attack tooth
enamel. And medications, in
the torm of cough syrups,
throat lozenges or chewable
vilamins, which are sweeten-
ed with sucrose, can be
another treat: the coating ac-
tion of syrups not. only
soothes a cough, it also

bathes teeth in ‘sugar’ long
tO promote

enough tooth

decay; lozenges, often sucked
at night to reheve mouth and
throat discomforts, have a
similar action and effect; and
the particles of tablets can
become lodged on the sur.
faces of teeth to do equal
damage.

In addition to checking in-
gredients on the labels of the
products you buy, be mindtul
of the in-between meals con-
sumption of ‘sugars’ and the
‘hidden’ sweeteners in
medications.

hin 1.2 DACRON

SUE ENDS SUNCAY 6.07, /

BRING IN YOUR ROOM MEAS

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