Dental Health

An important component of your overall wellbeing is your oral health. Chances are you’re also already aware that your dental health can be affected by your diet; as they say, ‘you are what you eat.’

That being said, do you know what parts of your daily diet could be putting your dental health in danger? While it’s impossible for most people to eliminate all those dangerous drinks and food in order to eat 100% clean, knowing how to minimize the potential dangers is important.

To help you out, here are ten foods that affect your oral health:

Soft Drinks

Syrupy beverages like soft drinks may affect your dental health in the long run. Soft drinks such as sports drinks and sodas are full of sugar and additives that can cause decay to build up on your teeth.

That’s why it’s important to drink plenty of water after sipping soft drinks for extended time periods.

Note that even diet sodas should be avoided, too. Even though diet sodas don’t have as much sugar like the ones that aren’t ‘diet,’ that doesn’t mean they lack acidity.

Alcohol-Based Beverages

Alcohol can affect your dental health, particularly your gums and teeth. A person can have a hard time cleaning their teeth on a regular basis because of alcohol intake, which can lead to tooth decay, causing dental cavities or even tooth loss.

If you’re experiencing these dental problems, it’s best to check out websites of reputable dentists, like grovecitydentalofblackfoot.com, to learn about your treatment options.

The longer someone drinks alcohol, the more their teeth will begin to decay. You’ll need to find a way to stop yourself from having cavities in your teeth, especially if you’re frequently drinking alcohol.

Also, dry mouth occurs, which can decrease your natural saliva production, because of alcohol. Your saliva provides a slime layer that protects teeth against acid. It also helps wash away food particles.

Coffee And Tea

A lovely shade of brown is left in your smile when you regularly consume coffee and tea. The problem is that they can also make your teeth sticky if they’re sweetened. That means an increased number of food particles can attach to your teeth.

If you really want to drink coffee and tea, try to avoid the add-ons like syrups. Also, drink plenty of water after sipping them.

Citrus

If you’re serious about achieving and maintaining good dental health, sucking on lemons is really a bad idea. This is because you’re bathing your teeth in acid if you suck on lemons, which is harmful to your dental health.

When eaten alone, tomatoes, lemons, limes, and other foods that are high in acid promote decay in teeth. However, it doesn’t mean that you should completely ditch these foods from your diet. The truth is that they have nutritional value and you can benefit from them as long as they’re prepared with a meal.

Remember that it’s important to buffer the acid by rinsing your mouth with water after you enjoy eating citrus or any acidic food.

Dehydrated Fruits

Dehydrated fruits aren’t a good choice for your diet. Many studies have proven that eating a fruit that’s high in sugar can lead to poor dental health as well as a number of other health problems.

When compared to processed snack fruits, dried fruits are more nutritious. However, it doesn’t take away the fact that they’re still high in sugar and sticky. If you decide to eat them, you definitely have to brush and floss right after.

Hard Candy

As the most popular form of candy around the world, hard candy has long been a source of controversy. Though it has been in existence for years, it’s only now that the scientific community has begun to study its impact on the dental health of people.

This controversy is rooted in the fact that hard candy has been deemed as one of the leading causes of cavity-related diseases. One hard candy could actually take up to ten minutes to dissolve. Note that hard candies can also cause cuts on your mouth’s inside portion.

With its high sugar content, it’s no surprise that hard candy affects dental health. In fact, it has even been proven that it causes tooth decay and cavities in people who consume it on a regular basis. It has also been found that there are strong ties between hard candy intake and gum disease.

Gum disease is an oral problem caused by periodontal pockets under the gums. If these pockets are left alone, it can result in tooth loss. However, if they’re allowed to get big enough, they can cause periodontal diseases, tooth abscesses, and cracked teeth.

Peanut Butter And Jam

Many people don’t realize that peanut butter and jam can damage one’s teeth. This is because they’re sticky and they’re also often made with sugar.

You can lessen the problem by trying natural peanut butter instead. Those are the ones without added sugars. Jam is also loaded with sugar. You might say that all-fruit jam brands are safe.

However, they still contain natural sugars that encourage bacteria and plaque if not rinsed straightaway.

Potato Chips

White bread, corn chips, potato chips, and other starchy foods can be trapped between your teeth. When trapped, they feed on the bacteria that can cause plaque.

That being said, it’s best to reduce your starchy food intake to improve oral health.

Popcorn

Why does popcorn affect dental health? The cause of the damage is popcorn itself as it can be extremely hard on your teeth, causing many cavities and cracks.

The buttered puffy popcorn bits actually get stuck between the teeth when you’re eating them, thus, promoting bacteria growth.

To prevent this from happening, one needs to properly brush their teeth with a soft toothbrush. This will prevent plaque buildup, preventing cavities from developing.

Ice

If you love chewing on ice, you might’ve forgotten that ice is actually for chilling and it isn’t something that you should chew on.

Even though it doesn’t contain sugar and it’s made of water, it’s important to remember that hard substances getting chewed on may leave your beloved teeth vulnerable to dental emergencies, like a cracked tooth.

Final Thoughts

One of the best things everyone can do to have healthy teeth is to learn about foods that have bad effects on dental health. Brushing and flossing shouldn’t be neglected, too.

Hopefully, this post has made you realize how important it is to be mindful of what you eat. Again, you are what you eat, so it’s best to avoid foods that can damage your body as much as possible.