The Dental Folly of Hardboiled Lollies: 3 Surprising Ways Hardboiled Lollies Harm Your Teeth

Lollies have always been popular in Australia. Even today, with so many other types of food to choose from, 55 percent of Australian kids still spend their pocket money on confectionary, such as lollies. Unfortunately, this habit causes considerable damage to teeth, especially over the long term. If your children have a penchant for hard-boiled lollies, their little teeth could be at risk.

Hard-boiled lollies affect teeth in several ways.    

1. They Bathe Your Teeth in Acid

Unlike soft lolly treats, such as those made from jelly, hardboiled lollies take longer to consume. What this means for teeth is that for several minutes they are bathed in a sugary, acidic bath for up to several minutes. What makes this effect even worse is that your saliva stays acidic for as much as 5 minutes after you have consumed the lolly.

How does this harm your teeth exactly? Human saliva should have a pH of at least 5.5. This simply means that your saliva is neutral and poses no threat to your teeth. Since lollies can reduce the pH of your saliva, as shown in the experiment linked above, and they take longer than most sweets to eat, your teeth end up swimming in an acidic bath.   

2. They Expose Teeth to Sugar for Longer

Hardboiled candies aren't the only acidic thing in your mouth. The normal oral bacteria, such as Streptococcus mutans, also like to dine on sugary treats. The longer a sugary treat remains in your mouth, the longer these bacterial organisms can feast.

Unfortunately, bacteria also produce acid. If, for instance, a child sucks a hardboiled lolly, or several lollies, for 10 minutes, their teeth will be exposed to the acids secreted by the bacteria and the acid produced by the candies themselves. In this instance, teeth come under attack from two highly acidic enemies — sugar and bacteria.

3. They Stick to Teeth

Obviously, sugary treats, especially hardboiled lollies, stick to teeth. If a child eats several hardboiled lollies over a space of 10 minutes, then their teeth could very well be covered with a sticky, sugary residue. This residue could also be lodged in between teeth, making it hard to remove.

However, as long as this residue remains, the bacteria feasting on it will continue to produce acid. Even in just a few minutes, this acid could damage enamel and set in motion a spiral of decay.

If you or your children enjoy hardboiled lollies, try to cut down on them or stop them altogether. Contact a family dentist for more information.