London, May 20 (ANI): Dentists have warned that regular consumption of fruit smoothies may damage your teeth.

Fruit juices and smoothies, they say, may lead to erosion of tooth enamel.

The dentists suggests that it is best to brush teeth with a fluoride toothpaste before drinking fruit juice as this helps strengthen the enamel against the corrosive effect of the acidic juice.

A majority of people brush their teeth after breakfast when their tooth enamel has been weakened by fruit juice and brushing can be harmful.

“Once you have eaten your breakfast the protective enamel on your teeth is softened temporarily for up to one hour, the Telegraph quoted Dr Nigel Carter, the chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation, as saying.

“If you brush your teeth at this point, before the enamel has had a chance to harden again, you can risk eroding away the enamel and this can also increase your risk of suffering tooth decay.

“Dental health is often considered to be of secondary importance to other health issues, but the latest scientific research has found strong links between oral health and a range of serious health conditions including heart disease, heart attacks, respiratory disease, strokes, diabetes and low birth weight babies,” he added.

A survey released by BDA and Oral B revealed Britain’s poor dental habits, including flossing while driving, opening bottles with the teeth, ignoring bleeding gums and using earrings and lollipop sticks to pick the teeth.

The survey also showed that more than one in 10 has flossed while driving, and more than a quarter have opened a bottle with their teeth.

Almost one in three has suffered bleeding gums and half ignored them. Bleeding gums is a sign of gum disease, which has been linked, to heart disease as the bacteria from the mouth gets into the bloodstream.

People with gum disease are almost twice as likely to have coronary artery disease than those without gum disease.

Carter said that the popularity of fruit smoothies was a concern because of their high sugar and acid content. (ANI)