It is well proved that sugar is the main cause of decay in teeth. Therefore reducing the sugar intake will help avoid decay. Unfortunately, most liquid medicines are loaded with sugar to make them taste better , hence that well known song ‘ A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down’. The consequences of this are that those patients on long term medicine, pain relievers and even liquid vitamins can be at risk to over exposure of sugar.

If this exposure to sugar is at bedtime , then the risk of decay is higher due to reduction in saliva , which is the mouth’s natural cleaner. It has also been shown that brushing your teeth immediately after taking the medicine will not always remove all of the syrup from the narrow fissures on the top surfaces of teeth.

So , when liquid medicines are prescribed , please ask the doctor and / or pharmacist to provide the sugar-free varieties of the medicine. The medicine will work just as well without the sugar additive and it all helps reduce to fight dental decay.

Check out our page on cleaning baby teeth & looking after baby teeth

Ask your dentist or one of the dental team for more information.

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or email us on info@wollatondentalcare.co.uk