We all enjoy food to some extent. Some people enjoy it more than others, but regardless of whether you are savoring an appetizing t-bone steak or quickly gulping down a Soylent drink while on the go, we all need food to keep us going. So if we are going to continue to consume food everyday it makes logical sense that we should care about what it is we are eating. Common things people consider when making decisions on what to eat include sodium content, number of calories, amount of sugar, and total fat, as well as taste of course. All of these factors and more can add up to affect our health for the better or for the worse. These are the factors that determine how nutritious a certain food is for us. Nutrition is important and has become a topic that is talked about more and more in recent times. Although, while it is important to consider these factors, nutrition is not the only thing that food affects in your body. Another very important aspect of your teeth is often affected as well; your teeth.
Unfortunately, dental health is a topic that is overlooked far too often. Taking care of your teeth can benefit the overall health of your body in many ways. Some studies have shown that there may be links between poor oral health and endocarditis and cardiovascular disease. The first defense for protecting our teeth is to practice good oral hygiene habits like brushing, flossing, and having a regular check up with our local dentist. The other defense involves stopping the harm before it even reaches our teeth. This means paying close attention to the things we eat.
Most dietary guidelines recommend that we eat a variety of different kinds of food. It’s not good for us if we eat the same thing all the time, but we also have to remember that with a variety of different kinds of food comes a variety of potentially negative effects to our teeth. The number of different foods and drinks that can have a negative affect on our teeth could make up a very long list. To make it easier, Bright Side Dental in Royal Oak grouped foods by several different traits that can harm your teeth. This makes it easier to quickly identify the kinds of foods that you should be trying to cut down on in the interest of protecting your teeth. The infographic below illustrates the types of foods and drinks that often give our teeth problems, ranging from the hard, to the chewy, to the acidic, to those that can stain our teeth.
Although this infographic only shows the foods and drinks that cause harm to your teeth there are some things you can consume that can positively impact the health of your teeth. Eating cheese can reduce the acid levels in your mouth. This was shown by a study in which, after eating cheddar cheese, a group of 12-15 year olds had lower ph levels in their mouth than the others who drank milk or ate sugar-free yogurt. Raisins contain no sucrose, but instead are naturally sweet. This means that they don’t contain sugar which will make it easier for bacteria to cling to your teeth. In fact, raisins even contain phytochemicals which can kill bacteria that causes cavities. Vitamin rich foods can help to strengthen your enamel, especially those high in calcium. To make your enamel stronger spend some time eating things like beans, milk, and leafy greens.
If you watch the things you eat and drink as proposed and combine that with a dedicated routine of brushing your teeth and flossing every day you will be well on your way to having healthy teeth for many years to come. In addition to this, you should still be visiting your local dentist at least twice a year to make sure everything is still in order. Dentists can often spot issues that you are unaware of as well as give you an advanced cleaning that removes more tartar and plaque then your regular brushing may be capable of. Bright Side Dental has many dentist offices throughout the country and can help you to meet your dental and orthodontic needs. If you live near Austin,Texas or Indianapolis, Indiana make sure to visit us at our locations in those cities. You can contact us through our website or by calling 1-800-PAINLESS. We also have several locations all throughout Michigan. If you live in Southeast Michigan we have a location near you.
