Smoking is worse for teeth than childhood sweets, study suggests

SMOKING and a poor lifestyle are more likely to be to blame for tooth decay in adulthood than eating sweets as a child, research published yesterday claims.

The long-held view that eating too many sweets during childhood causes dental problems later in life is a myth, scientists claim.

Their research found that the relationship between childhood and problems with teeth and gums diminished with increasing age and eventually became almost insignificant.

Adults who smoked and those from more deprived social backgrounds were more likely to suffer tooth loss, the study revealed.

Dr Mark Pearce, from Newcastle University, said: "These findings demonstrate that it is just as important for adults to look after their teeth and gums as children, and that good oral healthcare habits shouldn't stop when people leave their family home."

The findings, which were published in the Journal of Dental Research, suggested that dental health campaigns should target adults as well as children.

They may also provide additional justification for recent British initiatives to move away from disease treatment and towards more prevention.

Dr Pearce and his team studied data collected during childhood and at age 50 from more than 300 people taking part in Britain's Thousand Families Study.

They found that the more cigarettes someone smoked, the more teeth they were likely to lose.

In addition, an underprivileged background was frequently associated with poor oral health, such as the infrequent brushing of teeth and irregular attendance at a dentist.

Dr Pearce, who is director of the Thousand Families Study a project that collected data from children born in Newcastle in 1947 said: "Damage to teeth and gums happens over a long period of time and is irreversible.

"Even if people aren't used to following a toothcare regime, it's never too late for them to start. They can't turn the clock back but they can increase their chances of maintaining a good set of teeth into their old age something which is very significant when you consider life expectancy is increasing all the time."

Research team member Professor Jimmy Steele added: "Even people who look after their teeth when they are children may slip into bad habits when they leave home.

"It's common for chocolate bars to be substituted for meals, or for regular teeth brushing to stop.

"In fact, studies show that men aged 20 to 30 are the worst at looking after their oral health."