How to deal with tooth decay/sugar in my case(quite tricky)?

[SugarFiend]

Hi

I have a couple of chronic illnesses and a gastric disorder where I am severely sensitive to seemingly all natural carbohydrates e.g. grains, vegetables and fruits. Animal protein and animal fat is the only food I can eat however if I don't take some carbohydrates in the day I get symptoms from taking too much fat.
I have found that I can eat chocolate and fruit juice without problems and have been using these as my carbohydrate source for many months. My doctor didn't recommend my current diet but she sympathised with me(due to the symptoms) and said it's your choice at the end of the day. My previous diet had me bed bound and my current diet has allowed me to become mobile again.

Anyway due to the excessive chocolate(100 grams sugar per day) I have developed and continue to develop tooth cavities at a rapid rate. My dentist gave me a toothpaste(Duraphat 500) however the cavities seem to be getting worse i.e. it is not working. I had some ideas on how I can maybe manage the sugar/decay issue and just wanted your thoughts.

1. I'm thinking of stopping chocolate and taking honey(with water) or fruit juice to get some energy. If I take these using a straw and try to prevent it from making contact with the teeth will I be able to prevent tooth decay?
Will the straw and effortt be enough to make sure the sugar/acid isn't going to the teeth?

2. Which would be the worse of the two for tooth decay, honey or apple juice?

3. I told my dentist the new paste wasn't working and he said there's not much else we can do. I read something about 'sealents'. Can I eat with a teeth guard or is there anything else that can be done?

4. Suppose I have chocolates for two day and then go two days without chocolates would this be enough to prevent cavities from getting worse since sugar would have attacked for two days and then the teeth can have two days to recuperate using the toothpaste. Would that make a big difference?

Hope somebody will be able to answer.

Many thanks

 

[Libra]

Hi

I have a couple of chronic illnesses and a gastric disorder where I am severely sensitive to seemingly all natural carbohydrates e.g. grains, vegetables and fruits. Animal protein and animal fat is the only food I can eat however if I don't take some carbohydrates in the day I get symptoms from taking too much fat.
I have found that I can eat chocolate and fruit juice without problems and have been using these as my carbohydrate source for many months. My doctor didn't recommend my current diet but she sympathised with me(due to the symptoms) and said it's your choice at the end of the day. My previous diet had me bed bound and my current diet has allowed me to become mobile again.

Anyway due to the excessive chocolate(100 grams sugar per day) I have developed and continue to develop tooth cavities at a rapid rate. My dentist gave me a toothpaste(Duraphat 500) however the cavities seem to be getting worse i.e. it is not working. I had some ideas on how I can maybe manage the sugar/decay issue and just wanted your thoughts.

1. I'm thinking of stopping chocolate and taking honey(with water) or fruit juice to get some energy. If I take these using a straw and try to prevent it from making contact with the teeth will I be able to prevent tooth decay?
Will the straw and effortt be enough to make sure the sugar/acid isn't going to the teeth?

2. Which would be the worse of the two for tooth decay, honey or apple juice?

3. I told my dentist the new paste wasn't working and he said there's not much else we can do. I read something about 'sealents'. Can I eat with a teeth guard or is there anything else that can be done?

4. Suppose I have chocolates for two day and then go two days without chocolates would this be enough to prevent cavities from getting worse since sugar would have attacked for two days and then the teeth can have two days to recuperate using the toothpaste. Would that make a big difference?

Hope somebody will be able to answer.

Many thanks

formation of cavities n caries donot depend on the quantity of sugars u take bt the frequency n quality of sugar.
taking sugar in any form between meals and sticky food cause caries at an increased rate.
now coming to quality of sugars, there are two types:1. extrinsic (milk, sweets, chooclates etc). 2. intrinsic (fruits n vegetables). among these all intrinsic sugars and only milk (extrinsic) are least cariogenic.
ur ans to ques 1: sugar in liquid (not sticky) form is good
2: honey
3:sealents do cause reduction in caries and u can eat n chew easily after their application as they cover the grooves in ur teeth which are most susceptible sites of plaque accummulation and difficult to clean.
4: if u have to eat choclate at any cost then do brush your teeth after eating that because choclates stick to teeth and cause rapid increase in caries activity.
frequent brushing specially after breakfast is very important. the more time sugars stick to teeth, the more they cause caries.
hope u got my points

 

[SugarFiend]

formation of cavities n caries donot depend on the quantity of sugars u take bt the frequency n quality of sugar.
taking sugar in any form between meals and sticky food cause caries at an increased rate.
now coming to quality of sugars, there are two types:1. extrinsic (milk, sweets, chooclates etc). 2. intrinsic (fruits n vegetables). among these all intrinsic sugars and only milk (extrinsic) are least cariogenic.
ur ans to ques 1: sugar in liquid (not sticky) form is good
2: honey
3:sealents do cause reduction in caries and u can eat n chew easily after their application as they cover the grooves in ur teeth which are most susceptible sites of plaque accummulation and difficult to clean.
4: if u have to eat choclate at any cost then do brush your teeth after eating that because choclates stick to teeth and cause rapid increase in caries activity.
frequent brushing specially after breakfast is very important. the more time sugars stick to teeth, the more they cause caries.
hope u got my points

Hi Libra

Many thanks for your answers. I would be grateful if you could kindly answer the following issues which I think you missed:

1. If I take liquid sugars through a straw and try to swallow it direct, will this prevent tooth decay assuming the liquid doesn't make contact with the teeth?
When drinking this way, is it practical to expect the liquid will not make contact with teeth?

4. I understand that I should brush straight after eating chocolate. However my question was assume damage was occurring even though I brush straight afterwards, if I done this(eat chocolate and brush immediately) for two days and then stopped chocolate for two days, would the two day break using the duraphat 500 be enough to remineralise/make a significant improvement so the teeth would rebuild/reverse and hence I would be able to manage the white spots and cavities in this way?

Many thanks

 

[Libra]

Hi Libra

Many thanks for your answers. I would be grateful if you could kindly answer the following issues which I think you missed:

1. If I take liquid sugars through a straw and try to swallow it direct, will this prevent tooth decay assuming the liquid doesn't make contact with the teeth?
When drinking this way, is it practical to expect the liquid will not make contact with teeth?

4. I understand that I should brush straight after eating chocolate. However my question was assume damage was occurring even though I brush straight afterwards, if I done this(eat chocolate and brush immediately) for two days and then stopped chocolate for two days, would the two day break using the duraphat 500 be enough to remineralise/make a significant improvement so the teeth would rebuild/reverse and hence I would be able to manage the white spots and cavities in this way?

Many thanks

Np sugarFiend
well u can take liquid using straw bcz obviously the liquid will contact teeth very briefly.. or if u are more sensitive about that then rinse ur mouth afterwards. it will be benficial.
and yes it will be benificial if u stop choclate for two days.
another tip to prevent cavities is that try not to rinse ur mouth after brushing ur teeth.. in this way tooth pastes get more time to make contact with teeth and enhance remineralization.. rinsing immidiately after using tooth paste will wash away all its contents esp flouride which greatly reduces cavitty formation. saliva will dilute the paste after some time so dont rinse after brushing.
hope its clear now