The Last Temptation of Sugar

My teeth are slowly but surely dissolving into dust. I never really took care of them when I was younger, and as I have aged I've only incrementally improved on their care. It seems to be mostly my own fault (though there is some blame to be laid on genetics), for eating too many sugary treats and then not battling the resulting effects in a very efficient and thorough manner. End result, they're breaking and falling out.

So I have visited the Dentist recently, to deal with a new broken tooth, and it was rescued, thank goodness. But I have long past broken teeth still in there that have to be excised, which will be happening in a couple of months I expect. Painful, expensive, and time consuming, I'm sure.

My Dentist did have some good news, though. If I reduce my sugar intake now, and start eating sugar-free sweets instead, such as gum, it will not just help save my remaining teeth, but actually restore health to my gums and keep my teeth relatively healthy for the rest of my life.

Well, that's something easier said than done. I don't have many vices, in the normal sense of the word. I don't smoke, drink alcohol, do drugs, drink coffee, gamble, have illicit sex that involves money, drive fast (I don't drive at all), rob banks, or abuse women and children. The worst I do is consume porn, and eat sweet sugary snacks. And now, it seems, I have to stop the sugary snacks!! Well, just great. Why live at all if that has to be taken away from me? Why not just end it all if one of my few joys in life is now out of my reach?


Sugar-free food is hard to find, and most of it is aimed at diabetics, rather than people with teeth-related problems. What that means is the sugar-substitute they use in them is often okay for insulin levels, but not really quite as healthy for your teeth as you might expect. Luckily, there are sugar-free chewing gums that are aimed directly at healthy teeth, and this particular brand is just now coming out with more varieties of sugar-free sweets alongside these. They are quite a bit more expensive, though, and the range is still very limited, but it's better than nothing, which was how it used to be.

I am still allowed to have full-on sugar snacks occasionally, but not at the level I was previously consuming them. And I also have to be careful to keep taking care of my teeth soon after eating, and at a higher level of scrutiny. If I do that, I should be okay.

Still sucks, though. The biggest problem I have now is the temptation factor. I didn't realise how many shops out there cater solely to sugary treats! They're everywhere you look! It's unbelievable how many lolly shops I pass on my way to something else, and now I have to ignore them - not by choice, but by necessity! Argh! Save me from the temptation!!