Why does Sugar Hurt our Teeth? | #aumsum #kids #science #education #children

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Our teeth consist of enamel, dentin and pulp. Enamel is mostly made of minerals. Dentin contains tubules filled with a fluid with some solutes dissolved in it. Whereas, pulp has blood vessels and nerves. When our teeth enamel erodes due to excessive teeth grinding or cavities, it exposes the underlying dentin and its tubules.

Now, on consuming sugar, osmosis takes place.

Do you know what is osmosis?

Substances like sugar, salt, etc. that dissolve in liquids are called solutes. When a region has higher solute concentration than the other, then to maintain equilibrium, water moves from lower solute concentration to higher solute concentration, through a semipermeable membrane. This process is called osmosis.

On consuming sugar, the solute concentration outside dentin becomes more than the solute concentration inside the tubules. Hence, the fluid from tubules rushes out via osmosis, stimulating the nerves below, and causing pain.