Useful Dietary Tips For Better Oral Health

What we eat and drink, and how often, plays a big part in how healthy our teeth and gums are.

Even as young children, we start to become aware of how things that we eat and drink can cause problems for our teeth. There probably isn’t a parent in the country who hasn’t told their children not to eat too many sweets as it is bad for their teeth. Some will, unfortunately, have suffered the effects of this with a painful toothache. While sugar is certainly one of the worst things to consume as far as our teeth are concerned, it is not the only one.

What we eat and drink can have a positive and a negative impact on our teeth and our oral health in general. In today’s Acton Vale Dental Centre blog, we are going to take a look at some of the worst, and some of the best, things to eat and drink for our overall oral health.

The Good

Water – Without water, none of us would be here. Whether we drink it from a bottle or a tap, water is one of life’s essentials. It is also essential for a healthy mouth. Not only does it help to wash away food debris but when we become dehydrated the bacteria in our mouth multiply and this can lead to problems such as gum disease.

Dairy products – Dairy products are an important source of calcium and phosphates, both essential for the production of healthy and strong tooth enamel that protects the more vulnerable inner part of our teeth where decay and root canal infections can occur. They are also excellent for rebalancing the acidity in our mouths if eaten at the end of a meal.

Crunchy fruit and veg – These can help to dislodge food and bacteria from our teeth but also tend to make us produce more saliva which does this even more efficiently. In addition to this, they are a good source of vitamins and minerals that are beneficial for our oral and general health.

Leafy greens – Every child’s favourite (not!), leafy green vegetables are very beneficial for us and are high in many vitamins and minerals including calcium, an important building block of healthy teeth.

The Bad

Citrus fruit and drinks –  While these do contain vitamins and minerals, the acidity in citrus drinks that contain lemon and orange etc can cause damage to the enamel on our teeth. As this wears away, we are likely to notice problems such as painful tooth sensitivity. When damaged sufficiently, the tooth also becomes more vulnerable to problems like dental cavities.

Dried fruit – Although a convenient source of energy and, especially in the form of dried raisins, a popular snack for young children, dried fruit is extremely sticky and will stick to the surface of the tooth and in between them. This makes removing them quite difficult and is a common cause of tooth decay.

Starchy food – Starchy food such as bread or chips can also stick to and between our teeth. If you consume these, you should make sure to brush your teeth diligently and also use dental floss to remove any that remains trapped between your teeth.

The Ugly!

High sugar products – We mentioned this at the start of the blog. Sugar is bad for our teeth. Avoiding products that are very high in sugar, such as sweets, cakes, chocolate etc is a good start, but it is also important to be aware of ‘hidden sugars’ that can be found in all sorts of food stuffs including many convenience and ‘ready’ meals. It is almost impossible to avoid it altogether but even cutting out the worst excesses is helpful.

Acidic drinks – We alluded to these in the citrus drinks section but an even worse culprit is the high sugar and high acidity carbonated drinks and especially ‘energy’ or ‘sports’ drinks. The latter especially are best avoided altogether. Few of us really need these and are not high level athletes. The acid levels in these drinks can rapidly strip away the enamel on our teeth and should be avoided. Water is your friend when it comes to your teeth and we recommend that you avoid these drinks in favour of it.

Alcohol (in excess) – While the odd drink is relatively harmless, alcohol drunk regularly, or in excess, can do a lot of damage to our teeth and gums. It is a significant factor in gum disease and oral cancers but also the cause of many accidents that can result in damaged or knocked out teeth.

Smoking – If we had to choose a ‘most guilty’ one for this list, it would probably be smoking. Smoking is incredibly bad for your oral health and your gums and oral cavity in general. It is probably responsible for the most cases of gum disease and is also a leading cause of mouth cancers. This is, of course, on top of any serious general health issues that can arise from it. There is no such a thing as a healthy smoker, so, as the saying goes …. ‘Just say no’.

We hope that you found this list useful and while we don’t expect our Acton patients to follow it strictly (after all, we all have a craving for sweet things from time to time), it is useful to be well informed so that we can make the right choices when we go shopping or when we eat out.

Provided that you avoid the worst of these and make sure that you brush and floss your teeth well, any problems should be kept to a minimum. You do also need to see a dentist and dental hygienist on a regular basis too and we are here to help you with that. To make an appointment to see us, please call the Acton Vale Dental Centre today on 020 8749 3267.