Speculatively, there seems to be a double whammy effect of carbohydrate consumption when it comes to teeth.
(1) direct effect of sugar/carbs feeding bacteria in the mouth which produce acid which etches away at enamel,
(2) indirect effect of pleasure/getting 'high', which assists oral bacteria by suppressing the immune system
I've never seen a discussion including (2), or gauging its relative importance. The effect seems to be more pronounced with harder drugs like crack cocaine.
Good points about dry mouth and grinding. Also I wonder if crack and amphetamines are directly acidic.
Are you sure though that pleasure doesn't affect the immune system? It seems logical that it would from an evolutionary point of view. Pleasure and its anticipation are forms of arousal like stress; downgrading non-essential or non-urgent systems is worth it for a chance at mating or a successful kill during a hunt. It seems to me that levels of inflammation and tooth decay increase in my body after several days of over-indulgence -- including activities like eating cake!
(1) direct effect of sugar/carbs feeding bacteria in the mouth which produce acid which etches away at enamel, (2) indirect effect of pleasure/getting 'high', which assists oral bacteria by suppressing the immune system
I've never seen a discussion including (2), or gauging its relative importance. The effect seems to be more pronounced with harder drugs like crack cocaine.