SUGAR & YOUR TEETH

• Sugars belong to a food group called carbohydrates.

• It is found in food and drink.

• In large amounts, sugar is bad for your teeth causing tooth decay.

What are sugars?

• Yummy

• Brown

• Crystally

• Good

• Sweet

• Carbohydrates

What do you think they are?

• White

• Bad

• Crunchy

What’s your favourite?

How sugar affects your teeth:

• There are millions of invisible BACTERIA living on your teeth and their favourite food is sugar!

• Each time you eat a sugary snack, bacteria in your mouth gobble up the sugar and turn it into ACID which is released into your mouth.

Acid Attack!

• The acids released by bacteria are very strong and dissolve the enamel on your teeth.

• This is called an ACID ATTACK!

• Each acid attack lasts for 20 MINUTES until your saliva washes the acid away

What sugar does to your teeth:

Hidden Sugars

Can you find them?

Tomato Ketchup?

Does this have harmful sugar in it?

Ketchup does contain harmful sugars!

Ketchup contains lots of added sugar to give

it its sweet flavour

Yes!

Bread?

Does this have harmful sugar in it?

Bread does not contain harmful sugars!

Bread is an excellent snack as it is not

harmful to your teeth!

Take care with the toppings you put on it

though!

No!

Strawberry Milkshake?

Does this have harmful sugar in it?

Milkshakes do contain harmful sugars!

Although they are made from milk, the added flavourings contain

sugars.

Yes!

Pineapple?

Does this have harmful sugar in it?

Pineapple does not contain harmful sugars!

Although all fruits contain sugar, it is a

natural sugar which is actually good for you and not harmful to

your teeth.

No!

Orange Squash?

Does this have harmful sugar in it?

Squash does contain harmful sugars!

If the bottle says no added sugar this just means that no extra sugar has been added

Yes!

Fruit flavoured water?

Does this have harmful sugar in it?

Flavoured water does contain harmful sugars!

Plain, still water is good for you but if fruit

flavourings are added, you are simply adding

sugar to it.

Yes!

How much sugar you can eat:

• It’s OK to have sugary snacks occasionally as your teeth can heal after being attacked by acid.

• But if you have lots of sugary snacks or sip sugary drinks throughout the day your teeth will always be under attack from acid!

• This damages your teeth and can cause tooth decay.

Safe Snacks

• It is important to eat safe snacks to protect your teeth from decay.

• Instead of eating chocolate, biscuits or sweets, try healthier, safer snacks like:

• FRESH FRUIT: apples, bananas, pears or berries

• RAW VEGETABLES: carrot sticks, celery, cucumber or tomatoes

• And bread, pasta, nuts, milk, cheese or yoghurt

Alternative foods:

Shopping Basket Challenge!

• Sammy Smiles and Danny Decay have mixed up their shopping!

• Can you match the shopping items to the correct basket?

5 Steps to Healthy Teeth:

1. Brush teeth twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste.

2. Choose safe snacks like fruit & vegetables instead of chocolate & biscuits.

3. Drink lots of water & milk instead of fizzy drinks or squash.

4. Only have sugary foods/drinks at meal times.

5. Visit your dentist regularly.