When it comes down to your body’s health, prevention is often crucial. Such is the case with our dental health.
Along with primary dental care like brushing and flossing your teeth, knowing what foods should to avoid, and which are helpful for teeth is very important if you want to avoid painful and expensive trips to the dentist. Here’s a list of some foods that are good for your teeth and foods that damage teeth.
Best Foods for Teeth
- Cheese. Fantastic news for everyone, cheese is healthy for your teeth! Eating cheese was found to raise the pH level of the mouth, which decreases the acidity level and the chance of tooth decay. Cheese is also high in calcium and protein, which are both great for strengthening teeth.
- Yogurt. Like cheese, yogurt is high in calcium, which is good for bone growth and strength. Yogurt is also loaded with healthy bacteria and probiotics, which are suitable for the mouth. They help fight off harmful bacteria.
- Leafy greens. Leafy greens are full of amazing health benefits. They are low in calories and high in calcium, folic acid, and many other vitamins and minerals. Leafy greens have even been shown to help fight gum disease in pregnant women. If you have a hard time eating leafy greens (and you are not the only one), try throwing some spinach into a smoothie, or cooking it in with your eggs in the morning.
- Apples. While apples are sweet, they have a lot of beneficial properties. They are full of water and high in fiber. Similar to cheese, chewing apples increases the pH level in your mouth. The threads in the apple also help clean the gums, fighting off gum disease.
Worst Foods for Teeth
- Citrus. Citrus fruits are generally healthful for your body, as they’re laden with vitamin C and other essential vitamins and nutrients. However, their high acidity can erode the tooth enamel over time. A 2008 study showed that the citrus fruits that caused the most tooth decay over time were lemons and grapefruit. Oranges were shown to cause some tooth decay, but not nearly as much as the former two fruits.
- Hard Candy. Who doesn’t enjoy a Jolly Rancher every once in a while? Unfortunately, hard candies tend to stick to your teeth when chewed, leaving sugar in your mouth for quite some time while the candy dissolves. In the time that it takes to dissolve in your mouth, bacteria has already begun forming and spreading to your teeth, speeding up the decaying process. Most hard candies are also flavored with citric acid, which as we’ve learned from citrus, is known to erode the enamel as well.
- Soda. Soda is a popular product that is harmful to teeth. What isn’t well known is the sugar in soda isn’t the most significant cause for tooth decay. It’s the acidity from the carbonation that causes the most damage to the tooth. So remember, when thinking about dental health, diet soda can be just as harmful to your teeth as regular soda. If you can’t go without soda, it’s best to drink it during a meal, as the food is a good acid-neutralizer.
- Sports Drinks. If you think you are doing yourself a favor by swapping soda for a Gatorade or an energy drink, think again. Even if the sports drinks are sugar-free, their high acidic levels have proven to do more damage to teeth, than the most acidic sodas. In a 2008 study, researchers at the University of Iowa measured enamel wear after steeping teeth in several different beverages for 25 hours. Lemon-lime Gatorade resulted in the most wear, followed by Red Bull, Coke, and Diet Coke.
Concluding Thoughts
The first thing people notice about us when they see us are our eyes and teeth. For some of us, if you don’t have the perfect set of pearly whites, you can feel less confident and more self-conscious.
Teeth whitening is becoming increasingly popular, as the most common problem people have with their smiles is the discoloration.
Instead of blowing all of your money on professional care and expensive treatments, you can opt for some natural ways to whiten your teeth and give yourself a smile you deserve.
Featured Image by Daniel Xavier.
