Clean Eating For Oral Health: The Best And Worst Food And Drinks For Healthy Teeth
We all want to have a nice, clean smile showing our pearly whites. The food and drinks in our diet contribute to whether we have healthy, white teeth or yellow-colored teeth, with possible tooth decay. In the infographic, "Foods and Beverages: The Best and Worst Options for Your Teeth,” the University Associates in Dentistry in Chicago suggest when it comes to oral health, we are what we eat.
Brushing our teeth twice a day, and flossing every day, are steps to a cleaner, and healthier mouth. A healthy diet can also influence how clean we keep our teeth.
Read More: 6 Ways On How To Whiten Teeth Without Seeing A Dentist
Rather than choosing starchy chips or crackers as a snack, UAD recommends opting for crunchy vegetables. Fiber-rich vegetables increase salivary flow, which helps wash away lingering bacteria. Ideal crunchy veggies, like carrots, can help promote good dental health.
Surprisingly, sugarless gum can be our ally when we can't brush between meals. The American Dental Association has noted chewing sugarless gum for 20 minutes following meals helps prevent tooth decay. The physical act of chewing increases the flow of saliva in our mouth, which can neutralize and wash away acids produced when food is broken down by the bacteria in plaque on our teeth.
Drinks that can harm our health include soda and alcohol. Soda coats our teeth in acid and sugars, which can damage our enamel. Diet sodas also damage teeth; their carbonation is acidic.
Similarly, heavy alchohol use actually reduces, not increases, the amount of saliva we produce. This increases our risk of dry mouth and tooth decay. Gum disease, tooth decay, and mouth sores are much more likely for heavy drinkers.
Alcohol also leads to higher plaque levels on teeth, and makes people three times as likely to suffer from permanent tooth loss. Heavy drinking also increases the risk of developing oral cancer.
Take a look at the infographic down below to see which foods and drinks to avoid for better dental health.
