Pop! How Popcorn Can Harm Your Smile

At the end of a long day, you’ve finished putting the kiddos to bed, and you decide to curl up on the couch and watch your favorite movie. Of course, you pull out a bag of buttery popcorn to go with it, feeling good that you haven’t chosen another more unhealthy snack. But wait a minute! Although popcorn is a low-calorie, no-sugar food, it can be harmful for your smile. Read on to learn ways one of your preferred snacks can damage your teeth and gums and how you can keep enjoying this movie staple while keeping your smile safe with the help of your dentist in West Seneca.

Unpopped Kernels

Popped popcorn is soft, airy, and easily chewed, but it doesn’t start out that way. Kernels are extremely hard and can wreak havoc if you’re not careful. Your teeth and restorations can exert a lot of force, but putting too much stress on them can cause cracks or breaks, allowing bacteria to access the more sensitive center of your tooth. As a result, you can experience tooth pain and require more extensive, and expensive, repair for your teeth.

Although many fall to the bottom of the bag, some popcorn kernels stay mingled with the popped ones. Even during an intense part of the movie, you need to pay close attention to the popcorn you put into your mouth. Make sure you’re not picking up unpopped popcorn before biting into it.

Stuck Hulls

If you love eating popcorn, you’ve no doubt experienced the sensation of having a popcorn hull, the hard, thin shell of the popcorn, stuck in between your teeth or between a tooth and the gum tissue. Most of the time, it doesn’t hurt, but it can certainly be annoying. If you leave the hull there for a long time, it can create problems. For instance, bacteria can access down deep in the gum tissue and cause an abscess or an infected collection of pus beneath the gumline.

When you eat popcorn, be sure to have some floss and a toothbrush handy. After you’re finished, drink plenty of water (not soda) and brush and floss your teeth to catch hulls that you may not even feel. Also, you need to visit the dentist regularly for deeper cleanings to clear out stuck hulls.

Caramel or Sticky Corn

Especially around the holidays, people sometimes like to put additional toppings on popcorn like caramel or other confections. The problem is that these substances adhere to teeth’s chewing surfaces and are difficult to remove. They also contain sugar, which feeds bad bacteria in the mouth. As a result, your teeth are at greater risk of developing cavities.

Although it’s best to avoid caramel corn altogether, you can eat it as long as you thoroughly brush and floss your teeth afterward. While you snack on it, you can also drink water to help rinse away the sugar.

Whether you choose to avoid this snack entirely or to continue eating it, knowing the risks can help you make a more informed decision and take the right steps to keep your smile healthy.

About the Practice

At Applegate Dental PLLC, our team believes that oral health isn’t just something you do twice every year. Our five dentists and our staff encourage smart choices every day, such as maintaining daily oral hygiene and making better choices in your diet, to protect your smile from harm. If you have questions about oral health tips, or if you would like to schedule an appointment at Applegate Dental PLLC, you can call 716-668-4646 or click here to contact us.