Whenever you devour a bar of chocolate, do you think how it will affect your teeth? As much as you might despise thinking about it, eating it is bad for your teeth. Although it has some pros, the cons of eating them easily outweigh them. First, like coffee, cigarettes and red wine, chocolate can stain your teeth. Dark choco, especially, is a potential culprit of causing deep stains, which can only be removed through professional cleaning methods.
Another disadvantage of eating them is that it promotes bacterial growth. Streptococcus, the bacteria are typically known for causing “strep throat”, can also cause tooth decay. It contains sugar, something that is infamous for causing cavities and tooth decay. However, this sugar content is dissolved quickly and thus has no time to increase the level of acids (which is responsible for causing plaque).
It is important to keep in mind that chocolate is not all bad for our teeth. Dark ones especially have many antioxidants that stop the growth of certain bacteria that produce enamel-eroding acids. It also has another beneficial ingredient, the cocoa butter, which acts as a teeth coating and prevents plaque from sticking to our teeth.
However, one should remember that the choco bar we consume today is not available to us in its purest form and is adulterated to taste better. All these added flavors and preservatives reduce the benefits of chocolate, both on our physical and oral health. It is therefore important that you keep your chocolate consumption in check and take it more seriously.
It has its own good and bad effects on both our body and teeth. These effects will be dependent on the type of chocolate and the quantity in which it is consumed. If you do eat a lot of chocolate, make sure you schedule regular checkups with your dentist to ensure your teeth aren’t affected by it.
