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.