in Australia, jelly beans have been sold for 80 years at chemists. These cute and tasty, fun flavoured, multi-coloured confectionaries violently attack your teeth and your oral hygiene.

Jelly beans are dairy free, gluten-free, fat-free, and peanut-free, and with their tempting flavour profiles, they seem universally liked.

Jelly beans are hard and shiny, and they are sometimes the culprit for ripping out dental restorations and crowns. Jelly beans are shiny because they are actually coated in shellac, a natural resin that is secreted by the female lac bug (laccifer lacca) after it drinks the sap of trees.

Native to the forests of Thailand and India, the lac bug deposits shellac onto the twigs and branches of trees, which is then harvested and processed into flakes. After being dissolved in ethanol, the liquid shellac is sprayed on to create a shiny appearance.

Shellac is also an ingredient in confectioner's glaze, and is listed as an additive using the number E904.

Jelly beans are practically all sugar and wreak havoc on your teeth!

Jelly beans can sit for hours on your teeth spreading their sugar leading to plaque formation and enamel decalcification, causing holes in your teeth.

Chewy, sticky, and hard, jelly beans adhere to your braces and teeth making it difficult for your saliva and tongue to wash them away. Jelly beans coat your teeth with their stickiness which can only be removed by brushing and flossing.

Cavity producing bacteria love to eat jelly beans even more than you do. They eat the jelly beans and produce acid which damages your tooth enamel and causes tooth decay.

Practice Good Oral Hygiene To Protect Your Teeth

Be sure to brush and floss your teeth as soon as possible after eating jelly beans. Brush for two minutes twice per day, floss, and visit your dentist and hygienist regularly twice per year.