It’s no news flash that kids (and adults) love sugar. The stuff is addictive, but I’ll save that for another post. In fact the world’s average sugar intake is 17 teaspoons per person, per day. But in Australia, Brazil, USA and Argentina we consume more than double this amount! Given that we should really be having less than 6-9 teaspoons a day (so says the American Health Association, Australia doesn’t have a recommendation) we are all consuming far, far too much.
Some ‘healthy’ foods that are very high in sugar.
So it won’t come as any real shock that the number one cause of tooth decay is the consumption of sugary foods and drinks on a regular basis. What is probably a little more shocking is that only 1 in 4 Australians actually believe that sugary foods and drinks are the major cause of tooth decay.
Colgate recently released a national report into tooth decay. Tooth decay is considered to be Australia’s most chronic disease for children and is five times more prevalent in children than asthma. Despite fairly good dental habits, two out of my three children have had major dental work, and when I say major I mean major. My daughter was on long term antibiotics which did nothing for her teeth but with a combination of this and her love of sweets she has seen one of her (baby) molars extracted and has under-gone root canal on another. My son had one of his (baby) molars extracted after an abscess formed from a previous filling. (sigh)
I’m not alone with almost half (47%) of Australian parents having their children experience symptoms of tooth decay in the past 12 months. But there are steps we can (all) do to help prevent tooth decay. All it takes is a healthy diet and proper dental care.
Colgate has released a new toothpaste that goes further to help prevent tooth decay. It has taken 14,000 people and eight years of clinical research to produce a breakthrough toothpaste – Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection plus Sugar Acid Neutraliser. This is the first and only family toothpaste globally with unique Sugar Acid Neutraliser technology that directly fights sugar acids in plaque, the number 1 cause of cavities. It works in two ways:
– neutralises sugar acids before they can harm teeth
– strengthen and restores the enamel to help prevent cavity formation
Personally, I have cut down on sugar and am trying to get the family to follow, but this toothpaste is a bonus. To find out more on dental hygiene and the new Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection visit www.healthyteethforlife.com.au
Happy brushing!
Disclaimer: To facilitate this post I received a complimentary tube of Colgate Maximum Cavity Protection and information kit.
