Dental care with snacks

DENTAL caries, the destruction of hard tooth tissue caused by plaque deposits, is the most common human ailment. Worldwide almost 99 per cent of the population are affected mainly because of diets containing higher and higher proportions of easily fermentable carbohydrates. These in turn contribute significantly to the formation of plaque deposits on the surface of teeth.

Plaque is made up of food residues, bacteria, their bacterial metabolic products, and saliva. These bacteria use sugars and other fermentable carbohydrates as a source of energy and convert them into acids. These acids cause a localised drop in pH, dissolving the minerals in the tooth enamel. As  a result, tooth enamel, which is actually as hard as a diamond when healthy,  becomes brittle and soft.

Saliva would normally act as a natural protective shield against these acids;  however, with the prevalence of indiscriminate eating habits, it is no longer able to protect the teeth on its own. Frequent small meals, snacks and  eating on the run can impede dental care. With each sugar-based snack, the pH value in the mouth decreases, tooth enamel is increasingly under attack, and there is less time for neutralisation by saliva. Consequently, cavities will eventually result from frequent, even relatively "mild," acid attacks over time.

The science of tooth-friendliness

A method cal led plaque pH telemetry is used to test scientifically whether an ingredient or food is harmful to tooth substance and enamel. In this process, a device with a glass electrode is placed in the space of a missing 
tooth for a few days until its pHsensitive membrane is completely coated in bacterial plaque. With this method, any change in the pH value during food consumption and immediately afterwards can be measured directly within the plaque, i.e., as if on the surface of the tooth. The critical pH, below which  demineralisation occurs, is 5.7. If the pH value in the mouth does not fall  below the critical value of 5.7 within half an hour during and after consumption, the food is considered non-cariogenic, or tooth-friendly.

Chewing gum and boiled sweets based on sugar replacers such as isomalt,  maltitol, sorbitol, and xylitol are guaranteed to help as dental care products. The leading sugar replacer used in sugar-free hard candies is isomalt. It is also used in chewing gum and a wide range of other food products.

Research studies conducted at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena in Germany, have shown that the sugar replacers isomalt and xylitol are not converted by plaque bacteria in the mouth, thus preventing the creation of tooth-damaging acids. As result of this, the pH value remains neutral.
Consumption of sugar-free products containing isomalt can even help to remineralise and "repair" minor tooth damage. First, because the saliva flow is stimulated, and secondly, because its composition is altered: both the pH value and the concentration of calcium and phosphate ions required for   remineralisation increase. In this way, as studies have shown, isomalt sweets are even able to neutralise the pH value in the mouth after the consumption of food containing sugars.

A vital factor in the tooth-friendliness of a product is the need to substitute nearly all fermentable carbohydrates, as even small amounts can lead to the formation of acids. Obviously, other tooth-damaging ingredients, 
such as fruit acids, or ingredients containing sugars, such as milk or cream,  must also be taken into account.

In some countries, the possibility of declaring tooth-Nike Series