How Good Nutrition Supports Your Dental Health – Roya Arbab, D.D.S
How Good Nutrition Supports Your Dental Health
Oral hygiene is a must for everyone to keep the mouth healthy and to always have a big bright smile. Most of the common dental issues can be avoided by taking many preventive steps at the right time. Food plays a very significant part in maintaining dental hygiene. What we eat is very important as it is responsible for the strength, appearance, color, and the health of our gums and teeth. Some of the items help in providing vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, some can weaken the gums and also, damage the teeth. Keep reading about root canal treatment to save a damaged tooth. Roya Arbab DDS is the top Dental Office in the area.
Tooth Decay Starts with What You Eat
The primary reason for tooth decay is the kind of food and drinks you are eating and drinking. The protection of our oral health is essential so that the teeth can give their best performance. The kind of things we eat has a direct impact on the overall dental health of a person.
There are thousands of good and bad bacteria present in the mouth. When we eat some food, the sugar present in it stays in the mouth. The good bacteria present helps in digestion. While the harmful bacteria consume the sugar and release acids that further causes cavities and decay.
A substance called plaque gets created when the bacteria consume the sugar. Plaque is a soft and gluey substance that gets built up on the teeth and is the main cause of many gum and oral diseases. Plaque, when it gets collected, starts eroding the tooth and gets inside the pulp. Once the plaque reaches inside the flesh, the decay will start happening.
Foods to Avoid for Better Oral Health
As you now know, eating the wrong types can be hazardous to oral health, so make it a goal to eat responsibly and avoid items that are bad for your dental hygiene. If eating sugar items, make sure to brush immediately after consumption, to prevent the plaque from building up. The below-given foods are the ones you need to be conscious of while eating:
- Tea and Coffee – Tea and coffee must be drunk in moderation as they stain, and also dry out the mouth.
- Citrus Fruits – Citrus fruits are acidic in nature. Too much of their consumption can cause mouth sores, irritation, and can even cause the enamel to erode. One should ideally wait for at least 30 minutes before brushing, after having a citrus food or drink. This is so because after eating citrus the enamel could be weakened, and by brushing, it can cause more damage.
- Candies – Candies contain the most amount of sugar in themselves. As the candy remains more than the other foods in the mouth, the sugar gets more time to affect and damage the teeth. Also, if you chew on hard candy, it may break or fracture them.
- Carbonated Drinks – As we already know now how things with acids can cause the decay of the tooth. So remember carbonated drinks not only have sugar but acids present in them. Drinking them can erode the enamel and damage them.
- Ice – Though the water does not have any sugar or acid present but chewing on ice may cause damage.
- Sports Drinks – The quantity of sugar present in them is quite high, and it can cause the decaying of the tooth. Rinse your mouth immediately after having such drinks.
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