Tooth Trivia

Sticky or dry foods adhere to teeth and increase chance for cavities. Cheese and other dairy products can be anti-cariogenic (cavity-preventing) due to their buffering effect, but in combination with sugars or starches, they are not. Fruit juices contain sugar and water and are no better for your teeth than soda pop drinks. The amount of time food remains in the mouth, the greater the chance for decay. The sequence that foods are eaten can determine the risk for cavities. For example, if you eat sugary foods after meals, you decrease the chance for cavities, as opposed to just eating sugary foods alone. There are almost 9,000 accidental pokings and piercings with toothpicks each year. At least twenty new ideas for tooth care devices appeared in the magazine Popular Mechanics between 1920 and 1930. Interplak was the first rotary action toothbrush for home. It appeared in 1987.