Are Crackers and Pasta Worse for Your Teeth than Candy and Chocolate?

What’s more dangerous for your teeth: crackers or candy? And is chocolate really as bad as people say? According to a dental health expert, it’s the carbs—not necessarily the sugar—that pose the greatest risk to your teeth.

The main culprits are fermentable carbohydrates—those that break down easily in the mouth. These include sugar molecules, making them easy to metabolize. Foods like chips, white bread, pasta, breakfast cereals, and crackers fall into this category.

“All these foods wreak havoc on your teeth,” said Whitney DiFoggio, a dental expert, on The Post. “The reason fermentable carbohydrates are so harmful is that they break down into sugars while still in your mouth. I call it ‘sneaky sugar.’”

“These carbohydrates increase acidity in the mouth as saliva works overtime to wash away the sticky remnants,” she added, “which raises your risk for cavities. We all know candy is sugar, right? But bread is sugar too.”

Surprisingly, she noted that dark chocolate is relatively tooth-friendly because it can be washed away more easily. So, what should snack lovers do? “If you want to enjoy these foods, go ahead. Just try to eat them all at once, because then your saliva has time to neutralize the acidic pH in your mouth. Eating a large meal of unhealthy items is actually better for your teeth than snacking throughout the day.”

The order in which you eat matters too. “If you’re eating cheese and crackers, make sure the cheese is the last thing in your mouth to help neutralize the acidity from the crackers. My favorite is cheddar cheese—it’s a great neutralizer.”

DiFoggio emphasizes that flossing regularly is the most important step. Plaque takes 24 to 72 hours to harden on teeth. “I know it sounds dramatic to say, ‘If you don’t floss, you’ll lose your teeth,’ but technically, you could,” she explained. “The number one cause of tooth loss is gum disease, not cavities. Cavities usually cause the loss of one or two teeth, but with gum disease, bacteria can spread, and you can lose them all.”