I have only been in practice for a little over two years. The practice I work in, however, is a very busy one. I see as many patients every month as some dentists see in a year.
During the past two years, I have seen a trend in caries that perhaps dentists previously have not seen. It is an increase in the number and severity of Class V caries in individuals who are in their teens, 20s and, in some cases, even older.
The first time I saw a case of generalized Class V caries, I immediately remembered the dental school lecture about caries and recognized the potential cause of this problem. After questioning these patients about their habits, I realized that the cause was what I had thought: sugar in a liquid form constantly bathing the teeth.
OK, this may sound like elementary information to any dental care professional. It worries me, however, that none of the patients I questioned knew the cause and effect of constant exposure to sweetened drinks. What worries me more is that no one, including dental professionals, had warned any of the patients about the problem.
We can blame patients for lack of good oral hygiene and give them oral hygiene instructions. What we may not recognize is that patients with bad oral hygiene have less severe cavities than those with bad oral hygiene who also habitually sip on something sweet. Therefore, oral hygiene instructions are not enough to prevent or solve this problem. It is imperative that patients and the new generation of soda drinkers be educated about the serious consequences of their habits.
Some of the patients with Class V caries and decalcifications reported an addiction to sweetened tea and others to coffee. However, the majority of the young patients (younger than 22 years of age) almost unanimously confirmed that it is soda that they have to have and that they drink it at all times.
In today’s overcommercialized teen world it seems "uncool" not to drink soda when teens are bombarded with all the slick soda commercials and colorful game promotions. What they do not know is how devastating drinking soda can be to their oral health and how uncool their teeth will look in a few years.
Every company in the United States is required by law to list any harm that can result from their products. Yet no one has mentioned the harmful effects of sugary drinks, especially to children and teens.
To date I have not seen or heard any warning against the hazards of constant soda drinking. Those of us who are blessed with good teeth and a nice smile don’t know how much damage a decayed central or lateral incisor can do to our self-image. I can tell, however, from the tears that many of those young people shed while in my chair as they speak of not being able to leave their home because of their bad teeth.
Their tears may give us an idea of the seriousness of this problem. I also can tell you the difference that can be made in someone’s life when anterior Class V decay is restored. I can think of one patient who would come to our office often and stay just to show us how grateful he was and how he can now smile for everyone.
We need to be more aggressive and educate the public on a larger scale. A subtitle warning during a soda commercial may not "fly" but it would be a great approach. I would like to ask my colleagues to educate their patients and perhaps speak out to their local media to address this issue. I ask this because I know that educating the public and preventing disease are the primary goals of our profession.
