SUGAR GOES BY MANY NAMES and hides where we’d least expect it. Molasses and maltose? Sugar. Corn syrup and sucrose? Sugar. Honey and agave nectar? They’re sugar too!

We Consume a Jaw-Dropping Amount of Sugar

Sugar in some form is added to 74 percent of packaged foods, and the average American consumes 57 POUNDS of added sugar every year. That’s a lot of fuel for the harmful bacteria living in our mouths (particularly during orthodontic treatment when there are so many extra nooks and crannies for food to stay trapped after meals and snacks).

Sugar Versus Oral Health

Sugar has many negative health effects, but as dental professionals, we’re focused on how it impacts our teeth. Sugar consumption is closely linked to gum disease and tooth decay, and it can eventually lead to needing treatment like fillings and root canal therapy.

Cutting Back on Sugar

So how can we avoid sugar when it has so many disguises? The easiest way is to cut out sugary sodas, fruit juices, and cereals for ourselves and our kids. We should also pay attention to food labels and try to buy foods with less added sugar. Finally, if we make more of our food from scratch, we’ll have better control of how much sugar goes into it!

Disclaimer: the content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

THE ONE INGREDIENT a tube of toothpaste must contain to earn the American Dental Association’s Seal of Acceptance is fluoride. (And, conversely, it must NOT contain sugar.) Fluoride is also added in trace amounts to drinking water to help keep our teeth healthy and strong. We’ve been relying on fluoride like this for decades, and the history of it is fascinating.

The Naturally Fluoridated Water of Colorado Springs

In the early 1900s in Colorado Springs, local dentists noticed a strange pattern. They were seeing many cases of brown — but not decayed — teeth. There were so many cases that the phenomenon was nicknamed “Colorado brown stain.” We now know that the condition they observed was fluorosis, and so many locals were getting it because of the abundance of naturally occurring fluoride in the town’s water.

Residents of early-20th century Colorado Springs were obviously getting too much fluoride in their water, but those dentists wanted to find out if there was a level of fluoride that would still protect against cavities without leaving teeth stained, and they turned out to be right. The first town to add fluoride to its drinking water was Grand Rapids, Michigan, and it brought the rate of childhood caries down by a whopping 60%. Aside from a few cases of mild fluorosis, there were no adverse effects.

Modern Fluoridated Water

Today, more than half of Americans enjoy the dental health benefits of fluoridated drinking water, something the CDC counts as one of the top ten greatest public health achievements of the 20th century. Everyone benefits from fluoridated water, whether male or female, young or old, rich or poor.

The idea of adding fluoride to water might seem odd, but it’s about the same as how we use iodized salt (which prevents goiters), bake with enriched flour (which helps digestion), and drink milk with vitamin D added (which prevents rickets in children).

Fluoride and Our Teeth

Why is fluoride so good at preventing cavities? It’s because it’s a key ingredient in the remineralization process constantly happening in our tooth enamel. If we’re eating and drinking a lot of sugary or acidic things, minerals get pulled out of our enamel and it wears away through demineralization. If we’re limiting those foods and drinks while using fluoridated toothpaste and drinking fluoridated water, then we keep our teeth well stocked with the raw materials they need to stay strong.

The Goldilocks Zone of Fluoride

“Colorado brown stain” proved that fluoride can do more harm than good to teeth when the exposure level is too high, but avoiding fluoride entirely leaves the teeth vulnerable to decay. Fluoridated drinking water protects our teeth with only 1.2 parts per million of fluoride, particularly when paired with fluoride toothpaste. To prevent fluorosis, parents should be careful to use only small amounts of fluoride toothpaste with children, and everyone should be spitting it out rather than swallowing it.

It’s wonderful to see our patients’ healthy smiles!

Disclaimer: the content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

RUDIMENTARY DENTAL EXTRACTIONS were performed in China as early as 6,000 BC, and there is also evidence that they used wires to stabilize teeth. They didn’t seem to be very interested in straightening teeth, but they were quite advanced when it came to treating endodontic problems.

Treating Toothaches in the Tang Dynasty

In 618 AD, Emperor Gaozu of the Tang Dynasty fell victim to a toothache. He consulted with his tooth doctor for relief, and his recommendation was a dental filling made of melted silver and tin. European dentists wouldn’t catch up until over a thousand years later!

Daily Dental Hygiene in Ancient China

The typical oral hygiene routine for a person in ancient China was to gargle salt water or tea. It became common in the Tang dynasty to soak a willow twig in water before bed and chew on it in the morning. The willow fibers would protrude like a comb and scrub the teeth clean. That’s where the Chinese idiom “chew wood at dawn” comes from.

Wait…They Had Toothbrushes Too?

Some people from that period had access to toothbrushes made of animal bone and hair. They also had an early form of toothpaste made from boiling honey locust fruit, ginger, foxglove, lotus leaves, and other herbs to reduce gum inflammation, ease toothaches, and whiten the teeth.

Disclaimer: the content on this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of qualified health providers with questions you may have regarding medical conditions.

WHEN WE PICTURE people of earlier eras, particularly pre-industrial ones, we tend to assume that they must have had really bad teeth. While it definitely is easier to get high-quality dental care these days, not to mention modern orthodontics and modern root canal therapy, the people of the past didn’t always have terrible dental health. Especially in cultures with no access to refined sugar.

Food Played a Big Role for Native American Dental Health

The ancient Native Americans ate a diet mostly of corn (maize), beans, squash, fish, and game, as well as fresh fruit and nuts. Their high-fiber diet helped keep their teeth and gums healthy. The harmful bacteria in our mouths need plenty of sugar and starch to multiply. Foods high in fiber have the benefit of scrubbing our teeth as we eat them.

How Did Early Native Americans Clean Their Teeth?

Just because tooth decay was uncommon doesn’t mean it didn’t happen. One museum in Manitou Springs, Colorado, for example, has an exhibit of replica skulls with holes in the jaw bones from advanced gum disease. To fight against tooth decay, ancient Native Americans used chewsticks — twigs that have been frayed by a rock on one end and sharpened into a toothpick on the other. Chewing on the frayed ends cleans the teeth. They also kept their breath fresh by chewing herbs like sage, cucacua, and mint.