EDMONTON - Poor dental hygiene and all of those hard-to-resist sugary goodies around the holidays can easily lead to cavities. And you might be surprised to know which Christmas candy is especially terrible for your teeth: candy canes.
While chewing a candy cane is actually no worse than any other candy, it's the shape of it that makes it easier to savour it for a longer period of time.
"If a child sucks on it, they could easily suck on it for 30 minutes to 45 minutes, so during that entire time of licking the candy cane, they are getting this acid exposure on their teeth," explains Alexandra Sheppard with the Associate Clinical Professor of Dental Hygiene at the U of A.
Sugar triggers the bacteria in your mouth to make acid, which coats your teeth for a full two hours after you've finished eating...
If you just can't keep those candy canes away, the key is to eat something with protein right afterward - like cheese, nuts or meat.
Candy canes will drop the pH in your mouth to an acidic 5.5, but cheese, meat and nuts can boost it back up to a neutral 7.
"It's the protein and the fat in them that help, that are more anti-cariogenic properties - so they don't cause cavities," says Sheppard.
Another piece of advice is to wait 30 minutes before you brush.
"Because then you're brushing that acid onto the teeth."
Other tips include:
- eating crunchy fruits and veggies which help clean your mouth by stimulating your saliva (sugar-free gum does the same thing).
- avoid pop, as well as wine (the pH of which is just slightly less acidic than Cola.)
With files from Su-Ling Goh, Global News
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