Our oral health will only be as good our diets allow. The foods we decide to eat, and how often we decide to eat them, can be the major contributing factors to oral health decline. This decline can be slow and go unnoticed for years, until it’s too late. The teeth and gums need to be kept healthy through proper diet just like any other bone, muscle, or organ in the body. Because eating is such a necessity, people often disregard what food and drink are doing to the mouth on their way down into the body.
The Mouth
Since eating is something we have to do to live, we might assume that the mouth is safe. It is after all the only passageway we have. Therefore, our concerns usually don’t start until foods and drinks are consumed into the body. If we believe we’re giving our body nourishment then we assume the food is healthy for us. Unlike smoking, drinking alcohol, or binging, there is nothing inherently dangerous about eating dinner. Certain foods simply have a slower, subtler impact on the damaging of our teeth.
Bad Foods for The Teeth
We may acknowledge the fact that certain foods are not the best for our bodies. However, when many of us think about the body, we think in terms of blood pressure, heart, stomach, cholesterol, waistline, and so on. The seconds that foods or drinks spend in the mouth are crucial as well. Many seemingly harmless foods impact the teeth because they contain sugars. These sugars are turned to acids by the bacteria in the mouth. This acid begins and continues doing a slow deconstruction of the teeth’s enamel. The more we eat and drink breads, bananas, sodas, potato chips, muffins, and any other foods high in sugar, the more they get stuck to our teeth. They all provide sources for bacteria.
Good Foods for the Teeth
Aside from brushing, flossing, and rinsing the mouth with fluoride, there are ways to eat and drink our way to a stronger, healthier mouth. Foods that contain calcium and phosphorous will remineralize the teeth. This is a natural process of recoating the enamel with minerals that replace those removed by acids. Some of the best foods for this are cheese, chicken, nuts, milk, and other meats. Some food choices like crunchy fruits, and vegetables also contain sugars, but their high content of water can dilute the effects of the sugar. Whenever using acidic foods like citrus fruits and tomatoes, they should always be part of a larger meal, which minimizes that destructive acid.
