Healthy teeth equal happy teeth, so if you want to retain your dazzling smile and your pearly whites, you are going to need to take very good care of them. In addition to daily brushing of teeth, flossing, and using mouthwash, you should also be careful with what you eat and drink.
There are lots of food and drinks that can cause a great deal of damage to your teeth and gums, so paying attention to your diet is also an important factor in keeping your teeth healthy and looking good. Though it is possible to keep your teeth strong and white through professional dental work, it is important that you also look to prevent problems arising in the first place. You can find a lot of great advice about oral care over at holisticdentistryusa.com, which is full of helpful information and suggestions on keeping your teeth and gums healthy.
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Despite the vast improvements in oral hygiene over the past few decades, there is still a huge problem all over the world with gum disease and tooth decay. In a world where we are brushing, flossing, and rinsing out our mouths and teeth on a daily basis, these conditions are still affecting lots of people. The main cause of which is the type of food and drink that we consume. Below we will take a look at some of the foods that you should be eating for maintaining healthy teeth, and some which you should avoid.
Calcium-Rich Foods
Calcium is extremely important for healthy teeth, and eating calcium-rich foods is the best way to put important minerals back into your system, to keep your teeth strong and healthy. The enamel that surrounds our teeth will start to erode over time, and the acid that is found in many foods and drinks can lead to this erosion speeding up. The building blocks of enamel are calcium and phosphorous, so to keep your teeth healthy, you should be eating foods that are high in them.
These include cheese, yogurt, milk, and almonds. The milk that you drink should be low-fat milk. Hard cheese in particular is great for your calcium intake. It has been said that when you chew hard cheese, such as Parmesan, which has the highest measurements of calcium, your mouth produces more saliva. This in turn produces enzymes that help fight bacteria and protect our teeth from acid found in various foods and drinks.
Cheese also contains casein, which is a form of protein, which together with calcium can help in the stabilization of enamel on the teeth, and prevent their erosion.
Foods rich in Vitamin D
If you are eating foods with high calcium content, then it is important that your body is in a position to absorb the calcium, and not let it go to waste. Your body will need Vitamin D for this, so foods such as salmon, and other fatty fish, are a great source. Other foods that contain Vitamin D include egg yolks, mushrooms, fortified cereals, and red meat such as the liver.
Calcium and Vitamin D work in conjunction with each other to keep your teeth strong and healthy and reduce the potential of tooth decay.
Foods that are high in water content
In addition to drinking a lot of water each day, which prevents thirst and promotes the production of saliva, you should also try to incorporate into your daily diet foods that have high water content. These include crunchy foods such as carrots, cucumbers, and apples.
The vegetables that you eat should be raw, and not cooked. In addition to increasing the saliva production, they are also good for cleaning your teeth, as their surface and textures can assist in cleaning the surface of the teeth and help to remove food particles around them, as well as plaque.
Black and Green Tea
Drinking black or green tea is a great way to kill the bacteria in your mouth that can lead to plaque. Black and green tea contains polyphenols, which kills the bacteria before it has the chance to cause any damage. This is why you will often see tea being served after a meal, and it is a very effective method to eliminate bacteria from the acids in the food you’ve just eaten.
Fruits that are rich in antioxidants
Fruits are generally very healthy and an important part of a balanced diet. However, some fruits have a far greater sugar content than others, so if you want to keep your teeth healthy, but still enjoy a piece of fresh fruit, then you should try to stick to fruits that are high in antioxidants, which can prevent inflammations and protect the gums. These include fruits such as grapes, raisins, berries, and apples.
The best antioxidants that can help with dental care are ones that include a number of vitamins such as A, C, and E. These can be extremely beneficial in the prevention of gum disease and the buildup of plaque.
Foods and drinks to avoid
As well as trying to increase some particular foods into your daily diet, there are also a number of foods and drinks that you will want to avoid, as they can cause a lot of problems for your teeth and gums.
Probably the worst thing for your teeth is sugar. Whether it be from candy, chocolates, or soft drinks, too much sugar is going to be very bad for your teeth, as well as your health in general. Sticky candy in particular is very bad as it will allow the bacteria in our mouths to soak up the sugar, which in turn will create acid which can cause the erosion of our tooth enamel.
Hardy candy is also something to avoid, simply because they are slow to saturate in your mouth, allowing bacteria the chance to create more acid. In fact, some types of hard candy are actually flavored with citric acid. You also face the risk of damaging or chipping your teeth if you are trying to bite into a particularly hard piece of candy.
Soft drinks should also be avoided, even the sugar-free versions. These will contain phosphoric and citric acid, which can lead to the erosion of your teeth enamel. It’s not just soft drinks that are packed full of sugar and acid. Sport or energy drinks are also very acidic, so you will want to avoid these as well.
