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Show Excessive Sugar Use Cited as Youth Tooth Crippler (This is the second in a scries of six articles on dental health being presented by the Record in cooperation with the Southern South-ern Utah Dental Society, in observance ob-servance of National Children's Dental Health Week, Feb. 3 to 9.) If there is one point on which i members of the dental profes-1 sion are agreed, it is the dam- j age done to the teeth of young children by well-maning but heedless parents. The mother or father who repeatedly re-peatedly gives a child candy and other sticky sweets between meals can set off a chain reaction reac-tion that may permanently impair im-pair the child's denta-l health. I These parents unwittingly are giving their child a strong nudge on the road to joining the vast army of dental cripples who require re-quire artificial dentures by the time they are adults. While the cause-and-relation-ship may seem farfetched, the fact Is that the preservation of a child's first teeth is essential to the proper alignment of healthy heal-thy permanent teeth. And early loss or damage to a child's so-called baby teeth frcm excessive consumption of sweets, or for any other reason, can start the progression toward malformed jaws and unsound teeth. Dental scientists estimate that we americans eat 10 times as much sugar as our great-grand-lathers did. They are concerned with this fact because of its impact im-pact upon dental health. It is a matter of record that dental conditions have become worse as civilization has developed, devel-oped, and the sweet and sticky foods of today are singled out as the No. 1 enemies of- dental health. When such foods as candies, syrups, jams and jellies, sweetened sweet-ened beverages, pies, cakes and cookies are eaten between meals, bacteria act on the sweet foods, all in a matter of minutes, to produce acid that can dissolve tooth enamel. Toothbrushing immediately after af-ter eating will help to offset the effects of sugar consumption. That is why members of the dental den-tal profession strongly advise that all children be taught to brush their teeth right after meals. However, when sweet snacks are taken between meals, and especially if these snacks are repeated re-peated frequently, the destructive destruc-tive acid buildup is free to do its damage. it may be that dentai research someday will find or develop a sugar which will not promote decay of the teeth. Until that day, however, parents will do well to be cautious about excess ex-cess sugar consumption for their children. The slakes are too high for overindulgence. (Next week: Toothbrushing. r |