Dear Patients and all our Readers,
Under the current circumstances we want you to know that you can still rely on us.
In the time ahead we would like to answer your frequently asked questions, thus bringing some curiosities into your everyday life.
We hope you stay with us and that you can make use of these short readings.
Eating
In today’s world, there are countless opportunities for us to keep up with the current approaches of nutrition. However, sometimes we hit the walls when trying to select only what is important to us from the vast amount of information.
Part of our daily routine is to get up in the morning, prepare our breakfast as the day goes by, then it is time for lunch, then comes the dinner.
When it comes to the ideal number of meals, people are divided into two groups. There are those who eat several times a little, and those who eat only a few times, but more.
Eating several times a day is preferred by many as they believe making their body work all the time speeds up their digestion.
In contrast, the level of insulin produced by the pancreas (that is to transport sugar / glucose in the blood to the cells for use as energy) during meals increases. If the pancreas is forced to work several times a day, and this becomes a habit for a longer period, the receptors become weary, overworked, and less and less insulin is recognized. Thus, receptors are made resistant to insulin.
This process could not only generate insulin resistance (IR) and result in the type II diabetes, it also has an impact on the development of tooth decay.
But how does this affect our teeth?
There are several factors in the development of tooth decay, of which the four most important are:
- Food
- Time
- Bacteria
- Surface of the tooth
In connection with diet, we must mention chewing and the role of saliva besides the information about ingredients and attributes of foods. (We’ll talk about that later.)
Carbohydrates play a crucial role in the development of tooth decay. To break them down the microflora of the mouth begins to produce acids. This is followed by mineral dissolution / demineralization of the hard tissue of the tooth.
Research has shown that it is not so much the amount of food we take in but rather the number of meals, and carbohydrate consistency that make the difference in the development of tooth decay.
Thus, by having snacks between main meals — say, sweets, high-carbohydrate foods etc. — we are more prone to tooth decay than those whose diets lack such habit.
Curiosity: The teeth of a population that is accustomed to intense chewing and has no access to refined carbohydrates is still healthier today than those that often consume these types of carbohydrates. / Ida Nádasdy – Jolán Bánóczy: Preventive dentistry /
In a nutshell, we’d better avoid continuous eating even in these challenging times. If we do get hungry, we should eat a piece of fatty cheese or a few grains of oily seeds! (Fats form a coating and a protective layer, which enables them to inhibit tooth decay.)
For example, cheese consumed at the end of a meal prevents the pH drop caused by sweets because protein- and fat-rich foods reduce acid transformation.
