# Sugar and dental pain **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 16, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840 "2008-02-16T00:46:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840/1 "2008-02-16T00:46:38Z")
I have oft used the phrase “so sweet it makes my teeth hurt,” but now that I am of an age and have some sensitive teeth, things that are very sweet really DO make my teeth hurt! I can understand why heat or cold might cause dental pain, but why sweetness? What’s the physiology behind that? Incidentally, the couple of teeth that hurt when I eat something really sweet are not the same ones that hurt when I eat something cold. ---
**Author:** ![chorpler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chorpler/32/2888_2.png) [@chorpler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chorpler)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840/2 "2008-02-16T13:56:06Z")
I experience this as well. Especially with sticky candy like caramel or nougat. I don’t eat those anymore. \ ETA: So while I don’t know the answer, I’m eagerly awaiting the response of somebody who does. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840/3 "2008-02-16T16:49:18Z")
I have always assumed it’s an osmosis thing, if you have strong sugar solution in contact with a cavity on your tooth then it will draw water out from the interior of your tooth, stimulating the nerve and causing pain. But I have no actual evidence to back that up, and on thinking about it, salt ought to have the same effect but it doesn’t. Ah well… ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [February 16, 2008, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840/4 "2008-02-16T20:23:05Z")
[QUOTE=Colophon] I have always assumed it’s an osmosis thing, if you have strong sugar solution in contact with a cavity on your tooth then it will draw water out from the interior of your tooth, stimulating the nerve and causing pain. But I have no actual evidence to back that up, and on thinking about it, salt ought to have the same effect but it doesn’t. Ah well… [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t that also then happen with something dry and/or salty, like pretzels? ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840/5 "2008-02-17T00:26:33Z")
[QUOTE=Joey P] Wouldn’t that also then happen with something dry and/or salty, like pretzels? [/QUOTE] Actually I have noticed that - when I had a filling come loose and expose a cavity, eating dry crackers etc also made the tooth hurt. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [February 17, 2008, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sugar-and-dental-pain/437840/6 "2008-02-17T03:53:55Z")
[QUOTE=I’m Pavlov. Ring a bell?] I think germs in the mouth instantly turn it into acid. [/QUOTE] Oral bacteria do synthesize carbohydrates into acid, but if acid were a factor, then sucking a lemon would also make my teeth hurt. Lemons don’t have that effect on me.