Office ‘cake culture’ jeopardising dental health, warns expert

A dental leader has warned that workplace "cake culture" may be fuelling the current obesity epidemic and contributing to poor oral health standards in the UK.

Professor Nigel Hunt, dean of the Faculty of Dental Surgery at the Royal College of Surgeons, has made a speech noting that for many working people, the workplace is now the main place they will eat sugar.

Many offices distribute sugary treats such as cakes, sweets and biscuits to mark special occasions like birthdays, or simply as gifts between coworkers. However, this leads to the temptation of snacking between meals.

The expert opted against calling for any kind of top-down approach to prohibiting such actions, instead recommending that professionals consider buying smaller quantities of food or offering them only at lunchtime.

Professor Hunt said: "Ideally office workers should consider other alternatives altogether like fruit platters, nuts or cheese. Responsible employers should take a lead and avoid such snacks in meetings."

It is well known that eating sugary and starchy food and drinks, particularly between meals, can result in bacteria in plaque feeding on the carbohydrates and producing acid that causes tooth decay.