Are you a smoker? Chew Xylitol To Prevent Teeth Cavities!

Article | 2020-11-26 07:21:03

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Are you a smoker? Chew Xylitol To Prevent Teeth Cavities!


Smoking is a habit that has considerable destructive power to human health. Smoking for some Indonesians has become a pattern of daily behavior and cigarette consumption continues to increase even though it is known to have a negative impact on health.

The public in general already knows that smoking can cause various diseases. However, in fact there are still many people who choose smoking instead of health. In general, it is known that smoking has the risk of causing various deadly diseases such as cancer and heart problems, as well as other diseases such as pregnancy disorders, chronic bronchitis, emphysema, lung cancer, larynx, mouth, pharynx, esophagus, bladder, narrowing of arteries and others. other. Smoking habit is also one of the causes of oral and dental disease.

Smoking habits can lead to increased plaque accumulation, where plaque is a bacterial adhesive medium to polysaccharides that can increase bacterial acid production, so that the pH of saliva decreases.

Under normal circumstances, the teeth are always moistened with saliva. Saliva in the oral cavity has a pH that can change at any time. This is influenced by several factors, including day and night rhythm, diet, stimulation of secretion rate. The pH of saliva can also be affected by the change in polysaccharides to acid in the oral cavity. Low salivary pH and reaching a critical number can cause dental caries, where repeated decreases in pH within a certain time will result in demineralization of the tooth surface. The process of dental caries is caused by 4 factors that influence and interact with each other. The four factors are teeth and saliva, microorganisms, especially sucrose substrates which cause a decrease in the pH of saliva and the length of time the food is in contact with the teeth. In an acid environment, the proliferation of acidic substances and cariogenic bacteria will result in loss of the structure of the teeth.

After carbohydrates are consumed, the plaque pH will drop below 5 within 1-3 minutes because carbohydrates can be distributed by certain bacteria and form acid. This will also cause the pH of the saliva to become more acidic or decrease.

Preventive measures to prevent a decrease in the pH of saliva in smokers need to be done by finding food ingredients that can increase the pH of saliva, including sorbitol, mannitol and xylitol. However, the most popular is xylitol because of its effect on dental health and a sweet taste, almost the same as sucrose. Xylitol is a sugar alcohol and occurs naturally in nature. Xylitol is made commercially from beech wood and this material cannot be fermented by the bacteria that cause dental caries.

It is recommended that smokers, especially active smokers, chew xylitol gum at least every 3 hours so that the ph of saliva increases so that the process of dental caries can be prevented. It is also appealed that people stop smoking by consuming xylitol gum as a substitute for cigarettes, considering that smoking has detrimental effects on health for 5 minutes after eating it can inhibit plaque accumulation and demineralization of enamel, increase remineralization in early caries and reduce the number of caries-causing bacteria streptococcus mutans. Thus, chewing xylitol gum can affect the saliva pH of smokers, the demineralization process does not occur and the caries process can be prevented so that tooth loss does not occur. This will improve the quality of life and the quality of one's work life.

Always consult your dental and oral health problems with the best dentists and dental clinics in Bali.


BIA Dental Center

Jl. Sunset Road No.86A, Seminyak, Badung, Bali Indonesia 80361.

+6282139396161