As you probably know - what you eat contributes to your overall health, and your oral health as well! A balanced diet can provide you with many of the minerals that will help maintain a healthy dental structure and reduce or eliminate bacterial plaque. Alongside good dental hygiene habits and regular dental checkups, a healthy diet can go far towards helping prevent tooth decay.
Candy (especially the sour, hard, sticky kind)
In addition to the bacteria-loving high sugar content, hard and gummy candies can also stick to your teeth. Sticky sugar will hang around on your tooth surfaces, prolonging plaque production and increasing the likelihood of damage and decay. In addition to having lots of sugar, sour candies are more acidic, giving your teeth and one-two punch of potential damage.
Dried Fruit
Things like raisins, dried apricots or fruit roll-ups are often believed to be examples of better-for-you snacks and a good alternative to candy. But the sugars found in these fruits are highly concentrated due to the drying process. And, their chewy, sticky texture makes them prone to stick to the top of and in between teeth, giving bacteria more opportunity to cause damage.
Ice
Ice is just water, so while its contents aren’t harmful to your teeth, its hard texture can cause damage to them. Chewing on ice can lead to broken, chipped, or cracked teeth. It can also loosen your crowns and damage enamel. You should avoid chewing ice altogether to avoid any potential problems.
Sports Drinks
Sports drinks may seem healthy, especially when you are drinking them during a workout - but use caution! Both the high sugar and high acidity in many sports drinks can lead to tooth decay and cavities. Many sports drinks also contain colorants that can even permanently stain teeth - especially blue and green dyes.
Soda (even diet soda)
Soda is extremely hard on your teeth. Regular soft drinks have high sugar content, but both types of soda are acidic. Both standard and diet soda can harm your tooth enamel. Carbonated sodas trigger a chemical reaction in the mouth that allows dental plaque to create more acid. This acid then breaks down tooth enamel, leading to discoloration and rapid decay. It may seem like a fix - but after you drink soda, don’t brush your teeth right away. You’re actually rubbing those sugars and acids into your enamel and further eroding the surface of your teeth. Instead, rinse your mouth out with water after drinking a soda.
Unsweetened carbonated water and seltzer shouldn’t cause problems for your teeth. But beware — some sugarless products contain potentially harmful ingredients such as potassium bicarbonate, sodium citrate, and artificial flavoring.
Coffee and Black Tea
Coffee is quite acidic, and it can also stain your teeth. This staining may be superficial, but excess amounts of coffee can cause significant staining. Unless you are drinking it black, sugar or syrups added to your coffee can lead to dental cavities.
Unsweetened coffee should be okay if you rinse your mouth with water after drinking it. It’s still not the best thing for your teeth though.
Black tea can stain teeth more than other types of tea, as it has more of the rich, stain-promoting tannins. When black tea comes into contact with teeth, it’s quite sticky, and can even lead to more significant tooth discoloration than black coffee does!
Salty Chips and Crackers
Potato chips are starchy and easy to get stuck in between your teeth. Bacteria love feeding off starches, just as they do with sugar. The bacteria on your teeth release acids as a byproduct of consuming the starches, and these acids contribute to tooth decay. Sharp pieces of crunchy chips can also stab into your gums causing irritation.
If you eat potato chips or similar foods like crackers or puffed snacks, make sure to floss afterward to remove any tiny bacteria-feeding chunks between your teeth.
Citrus Fruit
Citrus fruits are very high in acidity, which can wear down tooth enamel over time. If you eat citrus fruits, brush your teeth afterward to remove any residual acidity. Citrus fruits can be an important part of any healthy diet, but when you eat a lot of them, the citric acid in the fruit can wear away at your tooth enamel, which leaves your teeth vulnerable to cavities. Lemons, limes and grapefruit are especially highly acidic. When you are drinking juices, try using a straw so that some of the acid bypasses your teeth.
Alcohol
Alcohol can decrease saliva production, drying out your mouth and increasing the harmful effects of plaque. Beer and wine are also very acidic, which can wear down your enamel. Red wine in particular, contains tannins just like coffee, which can stain your teeth. The malts and dark barley in beer, along with its acidic nature, can increase the likelihood of stains. Other alcoholic drinks can have high sugar content, feeding the plaque-production cycle.
Popcorn
it’s virtually impossible to eat popcorn without getting it stuck in between your teeth. Be prepared with a toothpick and some water or a good floss after you’re done eating.
In addition to that, those hard unpopped kernels are great at cracking teeth if you accidentally bite down on one. If you eat popcorn by the handful, take some extra care.
The “Good for your Teeth” Foods
Healthy Fruits and Vegetables
Crisp fruits and raw vegetables, like apples, carrots and celery, help clean the plaque from teeth and naturally freshen your breath. Many fruits and vegetables contain high levels of antioxidants, like vitamin C, that can help protect gums and other tissues from cell damage and bacterial infection. Leafy greens have lots of folic acid, a B vitamin, which promotes a healthy mouth and supports cell growth throughout the entire body. Foods with lots of fiber can help keep your teeth and gums clean. They also help get your saliva flowing - your best natural defense against cavities and gum disease. When you eat something that has sugars or starches, your saliva starts to reduce the effects of the acids and enzymes attacking your teeth. Saliva contains traces of calcium and phosphate, helping to restore minerals to areas of teeth that have lost them from the bacterial acids. Check out this previous blog post for some great recipes using seasonal fruits and vegetables!
Dairy Products
The calcium and phosphates in milk, cheese, and other dairy products, can help replenish minerals in your teeth. They also help rebuild tooth enamel. Cheese is another good saliva producer, helping to reduce bacteria in your mouth.
Green and Herbal Teas
These teas both contain polyphenols that can help you avoid gum inflammation and disease. This prevents bacteria from growing or making acid that attacks teeth. One study also showed that drinking green tea may even help combat bad breath by reducing sulfur compounds in your mouth. If your water is fluoridated, a cup of tea can even be another source of fluoride.
Healthy Proteins
Most meats offer some important nutrients for oral health. The action of chewing meat helps produce saliva, decreasing acidity in your mouth and washing away particles of food that lead to decay. Red meat and even organ meats are especially beneficial.
Fatty fish (like salmon), provides vitamin D, calcium, and omega-3 acids that promote gum health. Fatty fish and tofu are also good sources of phosphorus, a key mineral for the protection of tooth enamel.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts are chock full of health benefits for your teeth. They have lots of important elements like calcium and phosphorus. Almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews in particular help to fight the bacteria that lead to tooth decay. Peanuts are a great source of calcium and vitamin D, and almonds offer good amounts of calcium, which is beneficial to teeth and gums. Cashews are known to stimulate saliva and walnuts are a powerhouse of fiber, folic acid, iron, thiamine, magnesium, iron, niacin, vitamin E, vitamin B6, potassium and zinc.
A well-balanced diet is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, as well as a healthy smile. In conjunction with healthy habits like drinking lots of water and regular cleanings and exams, you can ensure the health of your mouth for the long-term.
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