Auckland Dentist Claims Changes In Diet To Blame For Dental Erosion
A dentist from Auckland has claimed that changes in diet are responsible for high rates of dental erosion.
Dr Andrea Shepperson said that increased consumption of fizzy and sugary drinks and acidic foods and drinks is to blame for the increased prevalence of dental erosion, which occurs when the tooth enamel becomes worn. Dr Shepperson said that dental erosion is a real problem because once the protective enamel is worn, it cannot be replaced and the risk of tooth decay is high.
Dr Shepperson said that she is seeing patients with dental erosion on a daily basis and this is largely due to the fact that people are drinking energy drinks and fizzy drinks and snacking on sugary foods, which means that their teeth are constantly under attack from harmful plaque acids, which are released by bacteria in the mouth. Dr Shepperson said that young people are the most common sufferers.
Dr Shepperson said that dental erosion has become so much more prevalent in the last twenty years that it is now an “epidemic”; she said that her colleagues agree that they are seeing more people with acid erosion than ever before.
Soft drinks and energy drinks are the worst offenders because they contain sugar and food acids.
Dr Neil Croucher, chair of the New Zealand Oral Health Clinical Leadership Network Group, said that acid erosion was an increasingly common problem but he disagreed that it had reached epidemic proportions. In the past, gum disease and decay were the main problems dentists had to contend with, but nowadays, acid erosion is the most common issue.
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