Summertime Treats And How They Affect Your Teeth

Summer brings so many fun experiences and opportunities to build memories!

While it is generally understood that the sense of smell is the strongest sense tied to memory, food is right up there with neurological connections to happy times. It’s hard for many of us to remember childhood summers without running through the neighborhood smelling hot dogs on the grill or enjoying an ice-cold popsicle on a hot summer day.

But when it comes to how these foods affect the health of our teeth, what is there to consider? Let’s take a look at how these summertime treats can cause tooth decay.

Summertime Treats to Avoid

Popsicles. These are the quintessential summertime food, but they are nothing but sugar and are the worst choice for tooth sensitivity. The sugar in these treats will stick to your teeth and be a breeding ground for bacteria to cause cavities.

Lemonade. There is almost nothing sweeter (literally) than a few neighborhood kids selling lemonade from a makeshift stand on a hot summer day. However, the key ingredients for lemonade are more likely to wreak havoc on your teeth than most other summer drinks. With the acid from the lemon causing erosion of enamel over time and the sugar hanging around and being a potential cause for tooth decay, lemonade can do damage to your teeth that outlasts the summer.

Iced coffee. When the weather starts to warm up, there is nothing quite like an iced coffee to indulge a little. Especially when it’s flavored with sugary syrups, this can be a real problem for smiles everywhere when consumed regularly. In addition to the coffee stains (yes, it will still stain your teeth even when it’s not hot) and the high fructose corn syrup, many people will crunch the ice when consuming an iced coffee, potentially resulting in loss of tooth enamel and creating tiny fractures in the tooth that can result in a much more serious and painful fracture.

Healthier choices, like fruit-based popsicles, can still conjure up the summertime sense of freedom and fun, but present fewer dental problems than the above options. Feel free to indulge!

If one too many of these treats have caused a filling to come loose or a cavity to develop, we can help! Contact us to schedule your appointment this summer.

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