I Never Give My Child Sugar! Why Does He Have Cavities?
We limit sugar in our home. I don’t understand why my child has so many cavities!
We hear this question a lot. Many parents carefully avoid giving their children sugar. They limit candy, colas, cookies and sugary cereals. Some even eliminate white sugar altogether in their home.
Often, they are shocked when their child comes in for an exam and cavities are discovered.
Cavities are caused when bacteria (called Streptococcus Mutans) that naturally reside in our mouth consumes any type of sugar and then excretes acid. This acid eats away at the enamel, and allows tooth decay to begin. Children typically squeal in mock horror when they realize that bacteria ‘poop’ causes cavities. The more sugar for S. Mutans to eat, the more ‘poop’ it creates.
To paraphrase Shakespeare, Sugar by any other name is just as sweet.
Just because the ingredients don’t specifically list ‘sugar’ doesn’t mean there aren’t other potentially cavity-causing sugars included. Here are some of the sugars that cause decay every bit as often as white sugar:
- Lactose
- Maltose
- Malt Syrup
- Sucrose
- High-Fructose Corn Syrup
- Maple Syrup
- Corn Sweetener
- Corn Syrup
- Dextrose
- Fructose
- Syrup
- Glucose
- Honey
- Agave Nectar
- Cane Juice
- Fruit Juice Concentrate
It’s quite a list. And it’s easy to be lulled into thinking a product is okay because labeling allows manufacturers to make claims such as ‘No Sugar’ on products made with High-Fructose Corn Syrup. We recently found a bottle of pancake syrup labeled ‘No Sugar’ that had High-Fructose Corn Syrup as the main ingredient.
Other products may be labeled ‘No Added Sugar’, or ‘No Refined Sugar’. On some products containing pure maple syrup, cane juice, Agave nectar, honey or fruit juice concentrate, the package may even say ‘All Natural’. Just because something is ‘All Natural’ it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s healthful for your child.
The ‘Oses’ or Monosaccharides, Disaccharides and Polysaccharides
These are glucose, maltose, dextrose, lactose, fructose, sucrose, maltose, etc. Often, these are shown in this form on food labels rather than listing plain ‘sugar’. To those hungry S. Mutans bacteria, they are all delicious.
Have you considered buying Lactose Free Milk to avoid the milk sugar Lactose? In this milk, the Lactose is broken down with an enzyme (lactase) that converts it to two simple sugars – galactose and glucose. It may be easier for some to digest, but it still contains sugar.
Fructose might sound fine – after all, it’s made from fruit. But the fructose in that cookie can be the concentrated fruit from many apples. Better to eat one real apple and get all the fiber and nutrition that comes with it.
But Honey, real Maple Syrup, Milk and Fruit Juice Concentrate are good for my child, right?
While these products do have some health benefits, they still contain sugar. Those little S. Mutans bacteria love the sugar in these ‘healthful’ products just as much as the sugar in candy.
- Brown sugar and turbinado sugar are 99.9% sucrose (table sugar)
- Honey is nearly 40% fructose (concentrated fruit sugar), 31% glucose.
- Maple Syrup is 99.9% sucrose.
- Agave Nectar ranges from 55% to 97% fructose (depending on brand)
What about Bread and Cereal?
In addition to the fact that your body breaks down the carbohydrates in starches to glucose, there are often sugars added during processing. Maltose (malt sugar), Sucrose (table sugar) and Fructose (fruit sugar) can be in the ingredient list.
The takeaway?
Read labels. Understand what’s in the snacks, condiments and foods your family is eating. Do you have to take away all sugars? No. But understanding where they come from will help you make better decisions for your children.
We’re here to help! We offer some healthful snack advice on our website – click here and we are always available to answer your questions and help you foster good habits in your child so they’ll enjoy lifelong dental health!
