Best way to eat sugar to limit tooth decay?

[Orangio]

I'm a bit prone to fillings (about one or two per year). The dentist doesn't believe me that I don't gobble sweets by the dozen but I really don't. I admit I am not prepared to cut out all sugar (I want to enjoy life, and also socially it is sometimes good to share cake etc)! But I am prepared to change how I eat it if I'm making stupid mistakes.

At the moment...
My dental hygiene is good. Interdental brushes, flossing, brush morning and evening for two minutes with electric toothbrush.
I eat pudding or dark chocolate on average twice a week after dinner and brush teeth as soon as possible afterwards.
I eat fruit and honey as part of breakfast and also usually fruit as an afternoon snack. I don't brush teeth after fruit because of the acid.
I never eat sweets or drink juice or anything like that.

Is there anything obviously terrible about my diet or when I brush? Would it help to change the times I eat pudding or something? Maybe I shouldn't brush teeth after pudding?

If anyone knows anything about dental health I'd be grateful for advice/ideas ☺️ My own dentist is too busy for check-ups and advice at the moment.

Or perhaps a better toothpaste? Does remineralising toothpaste work?

Don't brush straight away after eating.
Leave it at least half an hour.

First first thing in the morning before you wake up.

Have you got an iOS brush?
Drinks through straws. And ask the hygienist how to brush properly- I always get told off for this. Something to do with the angle

I don't see my dentist anymore. Got given a new one and he's rude. But I pay £85 every 6 months for a professional clean by the hygienist

You need a stronger fluoride toothpaste prescribed from your dentist (Duraphat) either 2500pcm or 5000pcm depending on what your dentist decides.

I'm a dental nurse and the dentist I have worked with have always said if you're going to eat sweets it's best to binge on one sitting then spread through out the day. Especially with kids.

If you have an electric toothbrush you hold the brush at a 90 degree angle. You also let the electric toothbrush do the work you don't move it to and from.

Oops posted too soon!

*and from side to side the only thing you need to do is glide it to the next tooth.

Get veneers.

You might have chalky teeth.

Thanks for the comments!

I do wait half an hour before brushing after eating acidic foods like fruit, but didn't realise that was the case for all food.

I don't think drinking through a straw will help as I only drink water. Occasionally wine, but I draw the line at drinking wine through a straw 😆

I will check my brushing technique is up to scratch, good point there.

Veneers are cosmetic, no? My teeth look fine. I have heard of chalky teeth if you mean enamel hypoplasia? But surely a dentist would have told me if I have that?

I was fed a vegan diet until I was seven, with no calcium supplements, and I have wondered before if that would have weakened my adult teeth , but I asked a dentist that once and she said it wouldn't have.

I guess it just feels unfair. I seem to eat less sugar than most friends and they only have a couple of fillings in total. I've probably had about thirty! I must be doing something wrong!

Are you getting enough calcium, magnesium and minerals/vitamins in your diet otherwise? How are your gums? Any acid reflux? Consider it in addition to the previously mentioned fluoride toothpaste

you could drink water after eating and swish with it before swallowing ie rinsing but in a socially discreet way.
you could eat xylitol sweets after drinking said water, regularly.
you could likely benefit from using GC tooth mousse at night.
If you have a dry mouth at night you could use xylimelts to-make sure your mouth is staying hydrated.
you might have a rather acidic ph, if so you could try taking a daily ACV capsule. It’s good for your body all round, and makes your saliva more enamel friendly.
I sympathise. I didn’t get adequate nutrition as an infant or child and it has affected my teeth.

Yes, I eat a good varied diet and always have (as an adult), so shouldn't be deficient in anything.

I don't have a dry mouth, acid reflux, or anything like that. No health conditions. Gums are fine as far as I know - they never bleed anyway. No sensitivity.

I will look up GC tooth mousse and ACV ☺️

You could try sugar free chewing gum after eating, it's supposed to reduce the acid as it creates more saliva.

That is a good idea, thank you ☺️

What do you drink throughout the day?
Cut out the honey
Ask dentist for high fluoride toothpaste

I just drink water, milky tea. Milky coffee at weekend breakfast.
I could cut out the honey, yes. I could also cut all fruit from my diet and also my weekly pudding. But is that reasonable? I don't see anyone else who eats similarly little sugar to me getting two fillings a year. There must be more to it. I was hoping someone would point out something obvious I'm doing wrong which everyone knows except me 😆
The dentist is highly unlikely to give me high fluoride toothpaste, as she doesn't believe that I don't eat loads and loads of sugar. Her face tells me she thinks I'm lying! I will try asking though. Can I get it safely without prescription does anyone know?

I brought the new IO electric toothbrush, no plaque on last visit and no new work needed. X

I thought I had a good diet too, but was woefully under for vitamin d in winter and year round for magnesium, calcium and trace elements. if your deficient in these things your body will pull them from your teeth and bones. That’s why pregnant women get free dental care, as the greater demand for these minerals in pregnancy can pull them from the teeth and cause the teeth to fail. The tannins in Tea and coffee also block absorption of these minerals. And they get harder to absorb as you get older. You dont need to stop eating fruit or honey or drinking tea, just increase the minerals your body is taking from your teeth. 50 years ago when my grandpa was a dentist your situation would’ve been normal and definitely exacerbated by current and childhood nutrition. You would’ve been recommended false teeth!

Weefreetiffany

what are trace elements? And if they are harder to absorb as we get older, how do we supplement?

@Weefreetiffany I thought that too! During my recent pregnancy I actually asked the dentist about supplementing with calcium to counteract the baby leaching minerals from my teeth, but she said that was a myth as far as teeth were concerned, and only applied to bones. She said pregnant women have worse teeth only because they snack more. I suppose she knows what the latest research says?!

Uff there’s such a narrative in healthcare to push back on the behaviour of the individual rather than trends and statistical analysis. I had one filling in my 20s and no problems from my pregnancy despite puking several times a day in the first five months. Snacked constantly. By that dentists analysis I should have loads of fillings 🤷‍♀️. Hope you find a solution that works OP

Hmm that's very interesting! I guess as new research emerges we'll find out more about the causes. In the meantime I'll probably get another thirty fillings 🤣