Fizz the last straw for tooth decay

Fizzy drinks should be drunk only through a straw and then followed by a chunk of hard cheese to reduce tooth decay, says the latest dental advice.

In a move which will vastly improve the fortunes of straw and cheese manufacturers, dentists are urging patients to adopt these new "lifestyle" guidelines after the publication of a study in the British Dental Journal.

Experts at Manchester University and the University of Iceland in Reykjavik have found that using a straw prevents the damaging "swishing" of carbonated drinks around the mouth.

They have also discovered that eating a piece of hard cheese after drinking cola and other fizzy drinks reduces decay by hardening tooth enamel.

Nearly two-thirds of children in some parts of Britain have at least one rotten tooth by the time they are five.

A rise in decay has been largely linked to the high consumption of soft drinks, including fruit juice and carbonated drinks, by children, teenagers and young adults.

Consumption of soft drinks has increased 34-fold in the past 50 years, with the average Briton drinking the equivalent of 600 cans of soft drinks a year.

Soft drink manufacturers are also being urged to change the recipes of their products. The journal's research reveals that supplements such as calcium lactate can help neutralise the acid in fizzy drinks.

- INDEPENDENT