Prof. Brown's Tooth Health Blog
November 7, 2023
by Prof. Brown

These days so many kids have mouths full of black teeth, and as a dentist, I feel my blood boil when I see them! Why do those careless parents let their kids eat mountains of candy every single day?

Last month, I was invited to Sweden to give a talk, and something surprised me: All the kids I saw seemed to have great teeth. And yet, on Saturday, the candy stores were full of people. How were these children eating so many sweets but still maintaining healthy teeth? I asked a Swedish colleague to explain, and he said it was due to a Swedish tradition called lordagsgodis—"Saturday candy."

According to my colleague, the tradition started in the 1950s. Sweden was getting richer, and the government was afraid this would result in kids eating lots of sugar. So the government suggested that parents make candy a once-a-week treat. Many parents tried it, and it was successful. Today, it has become a fun part of Swedish culture. Kids look forward all week to going candy shopping on Saturday, and they don't ruin their teeth by eating candy seven days a week.

We could really learn a lesson from those intelligent Swedes. I really hope this idea can take off around the world someday, too.

布朗教授的牙齒保健部落格
2023年11月7日
文：布朗教授

現今有很多小朋友滿口蛀牙，身為牙醫師的我，簡直看得怒火中燒！為什麼那些父母會這麼失職，讓自家小孩每天吃一大堆的糖果呢？

上個月，我受邀到瑞典演講時，有件事讓我很驚訝：我看到的每個小孩牙齒都很健康，然而，當地糖果店一到週六就人山人海。為何這些孩子吃這麼多甜食，卻還能維持牙齒健康呢？我請一位瑞典同仁解釋，而他說這是因為瑞典有個名為「lordagsgodis」的傳統，也就是「週六糖果日」。

根據同仁的說法，此項傳統始於1950年代。當時瑞典逐漸富裕起來，政府擔心小孩會因而吃下大量的糖分，所以建議父母將糖果當作一週一次的小確幸。很多父母從善如流，結果成效良好。如今，這已成為瑞典的一項有趣文化。小孩一整個禮拜都在期待週六去買糖果，自然也就不會因一整週天天吃糖果而毀了牙齒健康。

從這些聰明的瑞典人身上，我們可真上了一課。我衷心希望，有朝一日這個點子也能在世界各地盛行起來。