Which is more likely to cause tooth decay – a chocolate bar or a cough drop?
If you guessed the chocolate bar, you wouldn’t be alone. When given this choice most people would say chocolate is the big culprit.
But actually, the cough drop is more likely to cause tooth decay (all things being equal). The reason is that tooth decay is not so much caused by the amount of sugar you eat or by how much decadent pleasure you derive from the sweet things you put in your mouth. What’s much more important to tooth decay is how long the sugary substance sits in your mouth without being washed or brushed away.
Because the cough drop sits in your mouth for 5-10 minutes as it helps subdue the tickle in your throat, it also keeps sugar and the acid it produces sitting on your teeth to eat away at your tooth enamel. If it doesn’t get brushed away right away or washed away by mouthwash, water or a good dose of saliva, it can lead to decay.
So next time you have a choice between chocolate and a cough drop, choose the chocolate. Or better yet, choose a sugarless cough drop.
Dr. Charles Martin and Team