Your diet plays a huge role in your overall health, specifically your organ functions and weight stabilization. But did you know what you eat heavily affects your dental health too? Foods that are good for, say, your digestion system, aren’t always good for your teeth. Let’s dive into all of the hard facts surrounding your diet and your dental health.
Foods that Harm your Dental Health
Sweets and Junk Food
You probably could have guessed this one, but hard and sticky candies are bad for your teeth. They’re not only filled with sugar but they can easily get stuck between your teeth and cause cavities. Additionally, sweets and junk food like cookies, muffins, and chips are not any better. They don’t offer any nutritional value and contain the kind of sugar that sticks around and causes damage.
Sugary Drinks
Sugar-filled drinks such as sodas, juices, and sweetened teas can cause some serious damage. They are okay to enjoy on occasion, but daily intake of sugary drinks is not good for your dental health. When you sip on them regularly, your teeth are constantly covered in sugar, and cavities and decay are hard to avoid.
Acidic Foods
There are some foods that are great for our dietary and overall health but aren’t great for our teeth specifically. These include acidic foods like tomatoes, citrus fruits, and vinegar. While we don’t recommend cutting these foods out of your diet altogether, try enjoying them mixed with other foods into a meal instead of on their own.
Foods that are Good for Your Dental Health
Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and vegetables are high in water and fiber which are great for your overall health. And while fruits and vegetables do contain sugar, these kinds of natural sugars are different from the processed ones you’ll find in sweets. Mixed with the water and fiber they contain, the sugars in fruits and vegetables are balanced out by the benefits they bring to your body – and your mouth.
Calcium-Rich Foods
Some other foods you should try to add to your diet include dairy products, tofu, leafy greens such as spinach and kale, and almonds. All of these foods are rich in calcium, which strengthens your bones and more specifically, your teeth!
Have any specific questions about your diet and how it relates to your dental health? Contact us today.