Demi
Sat, Jan-14-12, 08:29
From The Telegraph
London, UK
January 14, 2012
'Healthy' smoothies not so innocent for teeth, says dentist
Middle-class parents are unwittingly causing their children's teeth to rot by regularly feeding them 'healthy' fruit juices and smoothies, a leading dentist has warned.
High-street practitioners regularly see children with teeth worn away to little more than stumps due to the youngsters' mouths being bathed in the acidic drinks day-in, day-out, said Kathryn Harley, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the Royal College of Surgeons.
National surveys show half of five-year-olds exhibit signs of 'tooth wear', caused by acidic drinks dissolving and softening enamel.
Teeth edges first start to fret, then chip. They gradually get worn back until, in some cases, all that remain are hideous stumps.
Harley said a generation of children was growing up refusing to drink water because they had been fed fruit juice since they were babies.
"The problem is that we have got a generation who won't drink water. They want it flavoured all the time," she said.
"We see lots of parents who say, 'My children won't drink water'. But if a child has been introduced as an infant to juice, parents are going to really struggle to get him to drink water when he is a bit older."
Harley, who runs a specialist clinic sorting out serious dental problems, explained that fruit juice and smoothies were extremely acidic, typically with pH values of two to three. Any time the mouth had a pH lower than 5.5, teeth were vulnerable from acid attack.
She went on: "I think people understand the message that sweets cause decay - even if they choose to ignore it. But they don't seem to have the same sense of awareness that acid drinks cause tooth wear, which can be catastrophic."
Dentists frequently see children from more affluent homes with significant tooth wear, she added, as their parents were more likely to buy more expensive pure fruit juice and smoothies.
"It's not a condition that is just affecting lower socio-economic groups, it's across the whole spread of society," she said.
She wanted drinks manufacturers to consider putting dental health warnings about regular consumption of fruit and sugary drinks on packaging. Drinks makers frequently trade on fruit juices as healthy, and being a good way of consuming one of the 'five-a-day' recommended intake of fruit or vegetables.
A spokesman for the British Soft Drinks Association claimed that if fruit juice was drunk through a straw, "the fluid will be directed to the back of the mouth and its contact with the teeth will be reduced" - although Harley disputed that was true.
The BSDA spokesman added: "If fruit juice is consumed with meals, any adverse impact on dental health will be reduced. Our research showed that 93 per cent of fruit juice consumption is at mealtimes."
A spokesman for Innocent Drinks, a leading brand, said: "With less than 10 per cent of kids getting their five-a-day, juices and smoothies are a great way to get fruit into their diet.
"All our kids' drinks - including our smoothies and kids juicy drink (a blend of pure fruit juice and spring water) are sold with straws, to help minimise the contact of the smoothie or juice with the teeth.
"Our smoothies are made from nothing but pure, crushed fruit and juice.
"They have the same effect on teeth as eating fruit does. To minimize any potential impact The British Dental Health Foundation recommends that fruit and smoothies should be consumed at mealtimes." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9013144/Healthy-smoothies-not-so-innocent-for-teeth-says-dentist.html
London, UK
January 14, 2012
'Healthy' smoothies not so innocent for teeth, says dentist
Middle-class parents are unwittingly causing their children's teeth to rot by regularly feeding them 'healthy' fruit juices and smoothies, a leading dentist has warned.
High-street practitioners regularly see children with teeth worn away to little more than stumps due to the youngsters' mouths being bathed in the acidic drinks day-in, day-out, said Kathryn Harley, dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at the Royal College of Surgeons.
National surveys show half of five-year-olds exhibit signs of 'tooth wear', caused by acidic drinks dissolving and softening enamel.
Teeth edges first start to fret, then chip. They gradually get worn back until, in some cases, all that remain are hideous stumps.
Harley said a generation of children was growing up refusing to drink water because they had been fed fruit juice since they were babies.
"The problem is that we have got a generation who won't drink water. They want it flavoured all the time," she said.
"We see lots of parents who say, 'My children won't drink water'. But if a child has been introduced as an infant to juice, parents are going to really struggle to get him to drink water when he is a bit older."
Harley, who runs a specialist clinic sorting out serious dental problems, explained that fruit juice and smoothies were extremely acidic, typically with pH values of two to three. Any time the mouth had a pH lower than 5.5, teeth were vulnerable from acid attack.
She went on: "I think people understand the message that sweets cause decay - even if they choose to ignore it. But they don't seem to have the same sense of awareness that acid drinks cause tooth wear, which can be catastrophic."
Dentists frequently see children from more affluent homes with significant tooth wear, she added, as their parents were more likely to buy more expensive pure fruit juice and smoothies.
"It's not a condition that is just affecting lower socio-economic groups, it's across the whole spread of society," she said.
She wanted drinks manufacturers to consider putting dental health warnings about regular consumption of fruit and sugary drinks on packaging. Drinks makers frequently trade on fruit juices as healthy, and being a good way of consuming one of the 'five-a-day' recommended intake of fruit or vegetables.
A spokesman for the British Soft Drinks Association claimed that if fruit juice was drunk through a straw, "the fluid will be directed to the back of the mouth and its contact with the teeth will be reduced" - although Harley disputed that was true.
The BSDA spokesman added: "If fruit juice is consumed with meals, any adverse impact on dental health will be reduced. Our research showed that 93 per cent of fruit juice consumption is at mealtimes."
A spokesman for Innocent Drinks, a leading brand, said: "With less than 10 per cent of kids getting their five-a-day, juices and smoothies are a great way to get fruit into their diet.
"All our kids' drinks - including our smoothies and kids juicy drink (a blend of pure fruit juice and spring water) are sold with straws, to help minimise the contact of the smoothie or juice with the teeth.
"Our smoothies are made from nothing but pure, crushed fruit and juice.
"They have the same effect on teeth as eating fruit does. To minimize any potential impact The British Dental Health Foundation recommends that fruit and smoothies should be consumed at mealtimes." http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9013144/Healthy-smoothies-not-so-innocent-for-teeth-says-dentist.html