Prevention is the best medicine for your smile. Although fillings, crowns, and professional whitening can make your teeth stronger and brighter, it’s better and cheaper to avoid cavities and stains in the first place. You can do it by brushing, flossing, and even more important eating right because the food we eat can have a big impact on our teeth.
Fortunately, even foods like candy are generally harmless in moderation. It’s when we excessively use one thing that can become a problem. Below are the worst and best foods for your teeth.
Worst foods for your teeth
1. Chewy candy
The more sticky the candy, the worse it is for your teeth. Extra-chewy sweets like taffy or caramels, can stick to and between your teeth for a long time, allowing bacteria in our mouths to feast on the sugar. By burning sugars bacteria produce acids that destroy the protective layer of tooth enamel, leading to cavities. If you already have cavities, it is important to visit a dentist to prevent tooth loss.
Chewy, sweet, and acidic candies fall under the “sour” category, which contains a wide range of flavors. They are highly harmful to your oral health since they carry their own erosive acid, in addition to that created by the interaction of sugar and bacteria.
2. Coffee
Do you know those stubborn brown stains that accumulate on the inside of a coffee mug? This demonstrates how coffee intake may stain your teeth over time. Coffee stains seem to last even longer than smoke stains. Teeth with thick coffee stains are sticky and prone to trap food particles and germs, in addition to being unsightly.
3. Citrus fruit
Citrus fruits and juices are a great source of vitamin C and other crucial nutrients for your body. They are beneficial to your health in many ways but not when it comes to your teeth. The acidity of grapefruit and lemon juice can damage tooth enamel over time.
To reduce the negative effect of citrus fruits on your teeth, make sure to rinse your mouth with water after every meal. Avoid brushing your teeth after consuming acidic fruits since it can further damage weakened by acid enamel.
4. Soda
It’s no secret that drinking too many sugary sodas can cause cavities. Moreover, carbonated sugary drinks appear to harm teeth even more than non-carbonated sugary drinks. If you can’t do without the soda, try to drink it during a meal, rather than throughout the day. The food will help neutralize the acid and the time of exposure to the acid will be much shorter.
Best foods for your teeth
1. Water
Water, just like saliva, assists in the removal of carbohydrates and acids from your mouth. It also contains fluoride, a mineral present in toothpaste, and some mouthwashes that protect teeth from erosion. Fluoride is found naturally in water (including some bottled spring water) and is added to most tap water in the United States.
2. Sugarless gum
Sugar-free gum stimulates saliva production, which helps to keep teeth clean. Saliva is your body’s natural way of cleaning out acids created by bacteria in your mouth. It also provides bone-strengthening calcium and phosphate to the teeth. In addition, xylitol, a type of alcohol used to sweeten several sugarless gums, can help kill bad bacteria in your mouth.
3. Dairy
Calcium, which is needed for healthy teeth, is mostly found in milk and other dairy products. Calcium is the main ingredient of hydroxyapatite, a mineral that builds tooth enamel and bones. Casein, a kind of protein, is found in dairy products, particularly cheese. Caseins, coupled with calcium, are essential for the maintenance and repair of teeth enamel.
4. High-fiber foods
Leafy vegetables and other high-fiber meals aid digestion and maintain healthy cholesterol levels, and they also benefit your teeth, owing to the amount of chewing required. Eating a bowl of spinach or beans is similar to going through a car wash for your teeth. A lot of chewing stimulates the production of saliva which keeps your teeth clean. Moreover, the meal itself physically washes your teeth as it is crushed up into small pieces.
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