How Your Diet Affects Your Teeth: The Best And Worst Foods For Oral Health
If you think your mouth is just a tool used for chewing food, think again. Your teeth, tongue, and gums are important elements leading to your digestive system. This is where your food gets broken down into pieces and sent further into your stomach.
When you consume any food or drink, it comes in direct contact with your teeth and gums. Prolonged exposure to certain foods can harm your oral health. Dentists advise people to avoid foods that lead to issues like cavities, decay, and more. On the other hand, some foods strengthen your teeth and gums.
What you eat has a direct impact on your dental health. If you are suffering from any dental issue, it can be caused by the food you eat. In this situation, wait no longer and visit a trusted dental clinic in your city.
If you are looking for the best dental clinic in Dubai, you can visit Magnum Clinic. Here, you will be treated by experienced professionals and dental experts who have created their niche in the industry. They will diagnose your issue and treat it using modern equipment.
We are always in tune with the latest technologies and offer efficient dental care. Whether you need a dental crown, a filling, or just some tooth polishing, Magnum Clinic is here to help. Our team has adopted digital dentistry and uses cutting-edge equipment to give you the best possible dental care in Dubai.
While you visit us, our dentists will also guide you in choosing your diet wisely. Until then, let us understand how your diet impacts your oral health.
Your Diet And Tooth Strength
When it comes to staying strong and resistant to damage, your teeth and bones are in the same boat! Just like bones, teeth need healthy nutrients to stay healthy for a long time.
And where do you get these nutrients from?
You guessed it! You get them from your diet. Eating a healthy and well-balanced diet makes your teeth stronger. Add more minerals to your diet to preserve the natural shine and power of your teeth.
Your teeth’s enamel forms a protective layer against a lot of germs. Eating a diet rich in minerals causes remineralization. This procedure repairs your enamel with time and keeps it strong.
Your Diet And Oral Bacteria
As gross as it sounds, your mouth is home to a plethora of bacteria! While some are good for chewing and digestion, others are harmful to your oral health.
The foods you eat and beverages you drink have a direct influence on the activities of these bacteria in your mouth. Dentists recommend consuming foods that avoid the growth of harmful bacteria. If you do not watch what you eat, these germs may cause many dental complications.
When the number of bacteria in your mouth increases, it may lead to excessive acid production that eats away your teeth. This is when your enamel gets eroded and your teeth decay.
You wouldn’t want that, would you? The most trusted dental hospitals in Dubai will guide you in eating the right foods that prevent bacterial growth.
Which Foods Are The Best For Your Oral Health?
If you are serious about your oral health, you should watch what you eat. Eating the right foods and drinking the right drinks will give your teeth long and healthy lives.
Here are some of the best foods for your oral health:
Dairy Products
All our mothers have asked us to consume more and more dairy products. Turns out they were always right!
Dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt, and more are great for your oral health. They have a lot of calcium and phosphorus that strengthen your teeth. These minerals can also repair minor damages and injuries to your teeth.
Moreover, having a glass of buttermilk after a meal can wash down all the particles sticking to your teeth. This helps you avoid issues harmful germs caused by sticking to your teeth and gums.
Almost all dairy foods reduce acidity in your mouth, further reducing the risk of various complications.
Green Vegetables
We may sound boring to you but eating leafy green vegetables is the best way to protect your teeth!
Everything from spinach and fenugreek to kale and lettuce works wonders for your oral health. Leafy greens are rich in calcium and a lot of vitamins. Eating them regularly will strengthen your gums and give your teeth longer lives. They will also make your enamel strong, keeping you safe from several diseases.
Moreover, dentists claim that green vegetables promote saliva flow. This is critical to maintaining sound oral health and keeping your mouth clean from unnecessary germs.
Fibrous Fruits And Veggies
Fruits and vegetables with a lot of fiber are as good as your toothbrush! Sounds weird, right? Allow us to explain.
High-fiber foods help you remove unwanted plaque from your teeth and gums. Most of these crunchy foods naturally scrub your teeth while you eat them. The best examples include apples, celery, carrots, and more.
Fibrous foods also promote saliva production, waging a war against the unwanted acid in your mouth!
Nuts And Seeds
Now that we are discussing crunchy foods, we cannot leave out nuts and seeds! These foods have a lot of phosphorus and calcium that strengthen your teeth’s enamel. Just like fibrous foods, they also encourage your mouth to produce more saliva.
Lean Proteins
If you are a non-vegetarian, you should include a lot of lean proteins in your diet. Foods like eggs, chicken, and fish have everything you need to strengthen your oral health.
Lean proteins are great for sound gum health and strong enamel. They prevent tooth decay, support your gum tissue, and repair damaged tooth enamel.
Green Tea
If you are a green tea connoisseur, you are in for a treat! All herbal teas are rich in polyphenols. “What are polyphenols,” you may ask.
These are important micro-nutrients with anti-inflammatory properties. They are natural anti-oxidants that are great for your oral health. Green tea reduces harmful bacteria in your mouth, lowers the risk of cavities, and gives you a fresh breath.
Which Foods Are Harmful For Your Oral Health?
A lot of tempting foods and beverages are harmful to your teeth and gums. Let us have a look at some of them:
Foods And Drinks With A Lot Of Sugar
Sugary drinks and foods have always been infamous for harming your oral health. Anything with sugar feeds the harmful bacteria in your mouth, increasing the risk of cavities and enamel erosion. Especially if you eat sticky foods like sweets, their particles cling to your teeth and make things worse.
Acidic Drinks And Foods
If you are a fan of soft drinks, we have some bad news for you!
Acidic foods and drinks erode your enamel over time, exposing your teeth and gums to many health complications. Citrus fruits, vinegar, soft drinks, and other similar foods also increase teeth sensitivity.
Sticky And Chewy Foods
As a thumb rule, you should avoid eating foods that stick to your teeth and gums. Such chewy and sticky foods are difficult to get washed down by the beverages you drink.
Think twice before indulging in gummy candies, caramel, dried fruits, etc. as they wouldn’t want to go down your throat that easily. When the particles of such foods stick to your teeth, bacteria thrive.
Starchy Foods
When you eat starchy foods, they are broken down into sugars and harm your oral health. In a way, this is similar to eating sugary foods. They invite harmful bacteria and increase the chances of erosion and cavities.
It is always better to limit the consumption of bread, pasta, potato chips, and other starchy delicacies.
Wrapping Up: Be Mindful Of What You Eat
While some foods strengthen your oral health, others wage a war against it! Be careful while choosing your diet and think of your oral health often.
If you have any more questions or need expert guidance in setting a dental-friendly diet, you can contact Magnum Clinic right away. Our dentists will also diagnose and treat you in the case of dental complications. If you have indulged in the foods you shouldn’t have eaten, a trusted dental clinic in Dubai is too far away from you!