Professor warns of fruit juice dangers to teeth
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- Published: Monday, 26 March 2012 12:54
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| Kathy Harley, Dean of the Dental Faculty at the Royal College of Surgeons and a consultant in paediatric dentistry, has warned that half of five-year-olds had signs of wear to their tooth enamel. She warned that children who are encouraged to drink large amounts of fruit juice as part of their 'five a day' could be damaging their teeth. |
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Miss Harley is concerned that health- conscious parents who regularly give their children juices and smoothies bursting with fruit could be doing long-term damage. She has called on schools to offer milk or water to pupils during breaks instead of fruit juice, which has a high acid content.
Miss Harley suggested parents should give their children fruit juice as a treat once a week, for example on Saturdays. The NHS recommends only one 150ml glass of fruit juice per day, which counts as one of the recommended five daily portions of fruit and vegetables.
Research published last year by King’s College London Dental Institute, based on a study of 1,000 people aged between 18 and 30, suggested eating an apple could be worse for teeth than drinking a fizzy drink because of the acid it contains.
The Department of Health, however, has said that it had no plans to remove fruit juice from the five-a-day. A spokesman said: ’It contains nutrients, including vitamins which are important as part of a healthy, balanced diet.’
fruit juice
Aged dentists such as myself will remember National Orange Juice, a give-away during and after the War, along with National Dried Milk. This was the cause of rampant decay in the deciduous dentition. When this was withdrawn, mothers substituted Ribena which has a similar effect. There is something deep in British mothers' psyche that says that kids should be fed a high-sugar acidic liquid. It is up to us to persuade them otherwise as doctors, nurses and health visitors seem not to.You need to be logged in to leave comments.
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