A Kiama dentist says it's not only what people are eating, but when that can cause tooth decay.
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Although some health experts recommend snacking regularly through the day, dentist Jay Gaffey said she saw a number of patients "doing all the right things" for their teeth being brought undone by frequent eating.
"In the Kiama region, generally people are well educated regarding diet and motivated about regular dental visits and their oral health," she said.
"Despite this I regularly see desperate, healthy people with perfect brushing habits (up to three times a day) and excellent balanced diets, suffering from terrible dental problems."
Dr Gaffey said that although sugar consumption was often blamed for tooth decay, it was a secondary culprit.
"Teeth aren't damaged by sugar directly," she said.
"Your mouth contains up to six billion bacteria. When you eat, some of the bacteria consumes the sugars in the food and releases acid, the real culprit, that dissolves the teeth.
"The saliva is full of minerals that will neutralise the acids to a certain extent, but eventually they run out.
"The longer you snack for, the longer you are at risk and the longer it takes for your mouth to recover.
"You only need to sip some herbal tea with honey for a couple of hours while you are watching TV, or grab one grape (acidic and sugary) from the fruit bowl ten times as you walk past, and your mouth is acidic for long periods of time, and your teeth start to soften."
She said there were some strategies to reduce the risk.
"The saliva can neutralise the acid providing there are no more then five food or drink intervals of no longer than 40 minutes," she said.
"Brush twice a day, and bundle your food and drink intake to avoid it being in your mouth more than five times a day."
