With three square meals a day becoming a thing of the past, Dentist Lucy Jaffa of Gentle Dental Care in Belfast asks, is snacking ruining our teeth?
RESEARCH by the British Dental Health Foundation reveals that two in every three people in Britain and the north have moved away from three square meals a day to snacking up to 10 times a day.
However, this frequent-eating pattern doesn't give teeth long enough to recover from the acid attack caused by the sugar in foods and drinks - and the end result is more tooth decay. Chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation Nigel Carter believes a basic lack of knowledge could be behind the snacking culture. "Most people know how various foods and drinks affect their body and overall health but many remain unaware that diet also plays a vital role in oral health," Dr Carter said. "Poor diet contributes to a variety of problems in the mouth including tooth decay, erosion and bad breath. "It is important that people become more responsible with their diets and encourage good eating habits, especially from a younger age. "We have turned from three square meals a day to seven to 10 snack attacks including constantly sipping sugary drinks and this may be one reason why improvements in dental health have been slowing down. "Frequent consumption of sugary foods and drinks naturally weakens the enamel on the teeth. "If people do snack between meals, choose foods and drinks that do not contain sugar, limiting the amount of time the mouth is at risk." While our burgeoning snacking culture may well be holding back improvements in oral health, Dr Carter said the problem didn't just affect our mouths but our pockets and general health as well. "The cost of poor diet has a profound effect on our health," he said. "In the UK, an estimated £9.65 billion was spent on oral health care in 2012 - a figure which is predicted to increase by almost a fifth to £11.31bn by 2020. "Add to that research showing over 60 per cent of adults are overweight or obese and you can see why poor diet is contributing to a growing social and economic burden of chronic disease including cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes, both of which have also been linked to poor oral health."