If you have a sweet tooth and appreciate the health benefits of CBD, then you must already be familiar with CBD gummies. CBD gummies are the CBD-infused cousins of Gummy Bears and Gummy Worms. As such, these tasty morsels have many people craving for more.
However, just like with any other type of confectionery, some have dental concerns. In particular, arguments rage on both sides as to whether CBD gummies cause cavities.
The sugar-sprinkled flavored CBD oil and Sugar and Kush CBD gummies are not exempt from this question. In this article, we weigh in on whether or not your CBD gummies can affect your dental health.
Let’s get into it!
The Basics: How Do Cavities Form?
Cavities are one of the most common dental ailments ever to plague us today. The CDC estimates that at least 90% of adults have had one or two in their lives. These recent statistics don’t even take into account children — the sugar-guzzling demographic who are notorious for cavity formations.
A look into how cavities develop can provide us insight into their ubiquity. As well, it can help us answer whether we can point the blaming finger at CBD gummies.
Cavities, or dental caries as they are otherwise called, form as a result of several factors. These disruptions into the enamel’s continuity can be the result of tooth trauma from frequently chewing on hard objects. More often than not, dental cavities are caused by one culprit — bacteria.
Bacterial growth on the enamel is not always a big deal. That is, it isn’t if you brush your teeth, see your dentist, or lay off the snacks. However, over time, the growth leads to ulcerations that develop into holes. As a result, you develop cavities.
A look into the common cause of dental cavities must also be an inquiry into how bacteria ends up on teeth. In truth, bacteria are always in the mouth. But it is like how E.coli causes intestinal problems — too much, and you see problems.
Bacteria proliferate in the mouth due to poor oral hygiene. One of the biggest things that increases the risk for cavities is sugar.
A Look Into the Sugar Content of CBD gummies
The popularity of CBD gummies and other products like strawberry CBD oil and vanilla CBD oil has created a market. The demand has flooded shelves with multiple iterations of these tasty treats. Needless to say, CBD gummies have now come in multiple varieties, each brand with its special ingredient on top of CBD.
Nonetheless, most brands have some commonalities in their ingredients. Of course, the common ingredients can be narrowed down to CBD and sugar.
Sugar in CBD Products
Other than CBD gummies, you will also likely find traces of sugar in the following:
- Cotton candy CBD oil
- Strawberry CBD
- CBD oil (vanilla)
Granted, CBD gummies dwarf the above-mentioned when it comes to sugar content. Nonetheless, the overindulgence of any one of these products can cause the amount of sugar on teeth to add up. In large amounts, the sugar on teeth from these products can allow bacteria to proliferate.
Sugar and Kush have gone on record, claiming that they use D-ribose, a “less harmful” type of sugar in their gummies and products. Most Sugar and Kush reviews are also quick to highlight the difference between D-ribose and commonly-used sugars.
D-ribose — What the Science Says and Doesn’t Say
Ribose is a naturally occurring type of sugar. In the body, it is often a metabolite of carb metabolism, often after the ingestion of starch or other carbohydrate sources.
Most types of sugar contain six molecules of carbon, 12 molecules of hydrogen, and six molecules of oxygen. In its isolated form like in CBD gummies, D-ribose is different. D-ribose present in CBD gummies (except for Keto CBD gummies) has only five molecules of carbon.
It has been claimed that the types of sugar responsible for tooth decay and cavities are varieties with six carbon molecules. While this might invite the idea that D-ribose does not lead to tooth decay, studies have yet to be done to confirm this.
On top of that, the idea that there are brands of CBD gummies that contain common types of sugar is not far-fetched. So it is pretty safe to say that CBD gummies can contribute to tooth decay.
Until more research surfaces on the internet, consider CBD gummies as being as harmful to teeth as other sweets.
Doesn’t CBD Cancel Out the Dental Effects of Sugar?
A lot of findings and anecdotal reports have claimed the benefits of CBD oil on teeth. At best, these findings and testimonies are suggestive of CBD’s benefits. At the time of writing, there seems to be no definitive study that finds a link between CBD and dental health.
There also seems to be a lack of specificity in the research scope for CBD applications. While much of the studies are on the medical applications of CBD oil, findings and research are pretty limited for dentists.
In short, little is known about whether or not CBD counters the effects of sugar. While some of the findings are promising, more research is needed.
If we were to put two and two together, we might still decide to treat CBD gummies as we would regular sweets. Even if it were the case that CBD counteracts sugar, we recognize, at least on an intuitive level, two things:
- Sugar is sugar
- CBD can probably be good for teeth, but it depends on the dosing (of which we know little about)
Final Thoughts
The research seems to be limited in uncovering the link between CBD gummies and cavities. However, if there is one takeaway from this article, it is this:
CBD gummies are made and consumed in pretty much the same way most sweets are. We enjoy them for not just their CBD but also their sugar content, whether we admit it or not. We may not know what CBD confectionery can do to teeth, but we know about sugar’s harmful effects.
The bitter truth is to answer our question in a way that leans toward the affirmative at least until we have been proven otherwise.
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