Three Foods One Should Avoid to Prevent Teeth Damage

Food choices contribute to the health of your teeth. Therefore, if you choose what you put into your mouth wisely, your teeth will age gracefully. Bad food is not necessarily bad. The only problem is that they encourage bacteria to thrive, causing severe teeth conditions. Bacteria need to burn down sugar to survive. Therefore, with every sugar you consume, you promote their survival. Sticky food also tends to stick around for too long, giving the bacteria time to run amok. Acidic food does not do much for your teeth. They erode the enamel making it susceptible to infections. Some sticky, sugary, and acidic foods are beneficial to your health. However, you should be cautious about maintaining that dazzling smile.

Sugary Food

As sweet as it is to savour the taste of sugar in your mouth, the dental nightmare is not worth it. Candies and chocolate are tempting, but the added sugar is a perfect recipe for cavities. Therefore, it is best to stay away from chocolate, cakes, and candies. While some candies dissolve faster and are less harmful, hard candies take long to dissolve. The time they spend in your mouth is enough to ruin your teeth. Coffee with both milk and sugar can have serious ramifications to your teeth.

Saliva protects your mouth and teeth by regularly cleaning your teeth. However, with frequent intake of sugar, the salivary glands will not be able to combat the sugars. If you must consume sugary foods, take them during meal times. When you are eating, the mouth produces enough saliva to clean up the sugars from your teeth.

Sticky Food

Do you enjoy a bowl of popcorn when watching a movie? Well, you might want to look for another snack. Those buttered bits are trapped between your teeth, causing havoc. While you may brush or floss, the tiny bits that remain will promote the growth of bacteria. Starchy and crunchy foods also stick to your teeth, causing plaque.

As nutritious are dried fruits are, you need to reduce their intake. They linger long enough to cause damage. Besides, dried foods have a high sugar content, which means double trouble. Whenever you consume sticky foods, you should chew gum and drink a lot of water to wash out the food.

Acidic Food and Drinks

Stay away from hot lemon water, soft drinks, and energy drinks. While hot lemon water is sugarless, the acidity weakens your enamel exposing your teeth to cavities. Energy drinks are even worse since they are both acidic and have high sugar content. They are the leading cause of tooth decay among college students. The worst part is that they coat all teeth, causing devastating damage. Excessive alcohol and some drugs also increase mouth dryness encouraging the growth of bacteria. If you experience dehydration, you should talk to dentists at Pure Dentistry to find a solution.

Apart from avoiding unhealthy foods, you should drink a lot of water and limit between-meal snacks to keep your teeth healthy. You should also brush, floss, and visit the dentist regularly.           

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Scott Lee