Food and Drink That Damage Teeth

You probably know how important your oral health is for your overall wellbeing. You are probably also aware of the importance of your diet for your dental health. It really seems the saying “You are what you eat” rings truer and truer and when it comes to dental health it’s even more important than usual. It’s time to see what parts of your diet could put your oral health at danger. Of course, most of us will never be able to eat 100% clean and eliminate all the “dangerous” foods and drinks form our diet, but it is important to know what to pay attention to and how to minimize the potential dangers.

Beware teeth, sugars and acid are here!
We all know the name of the villain when it comes to your teeth – plaque. We also know who plaque’s evil minions are – sugar and acids. These are the main culprits as far as our mouth is concerned as they are personally responsible for enamel erosion, tooth decay and pretty much all dental problems. So, let’s try to find out what categories of foods and drinks are most dangerous to our mouths and hopefully this will be a step forward a better oral health for all.

Highly Acidic Foods
When it comes to your teeth, acidic foods (foods with low Ph rating) could be extremely dangerous. Why? Whether contained in foods, or converted from sugars by your mouth's bacteria, acids can erode your teeth's enamel, causing cavities and tooth decay. A weaken enamel can also lead to a variety of problems ranging from sensitivity issues to discolored teeth.
Examples of high acidic foods: lemons, pickles, tomatoes, alcohol, coffee.
Source

Foods High in Sugar
We all know sugar is bad for our teeth, but it’s important to know why exactly. The bad bacteria in your mouth feed on sugars to create acids and cavities are an infection caused by acids. The point here is that sugars in your mouth are often the first step in the process of cavities formation.
It’s virtually impossible to eliminate all sugars from your diet, but it’s important to try to minimize sugar intake (especially refined sugar) as much as possible. It’s also crucial to not let sugar lingers in your mouth for a long time. So, brushing your teeth after meals or at least drinking lots of water is vital.
Examples of foods high in sugar: sugar (duh), soft drinks, candies, dried fruit, desserts, jams, cereal.

Sticky/Chewy Foods
An all-star villain when it comes to your teeth and gums’ health are foods that tend to stick and stay attached to and between your teeth for a very long time. The problem is such food debris turn into a plentiful energy supply for bacteria and their prolonged presence in your mouth allows bacteria to produce much more acid than normal. It’s vital to try to clean your teeth (flossing is best) as fast as possible and not leave sticky foods linger in your mouth for hours.

The Worst Drinks for Your Teeth and Gums

Soda
Nothing deserves the first spot in this list as much as soda. We all know how bad soda is for pretty much all aspects of our health and oral health is not an exception. A vast number of studies have shown the link between soda consumption and cavities.
The danger is two-fold. First, sodas are highly acidic, and the acids found in them can harm your teeth even more than sugar by striping minerals from your enamel. Hence, even sugar free (diet) sodas are still pretty bad for your teeth as they contain citric and phosphoric acid. Of course, regular, sugar-containing sodas are even worse, as they have the added danger of providing rich sugar feast for the bad bacteria in your mouth.

Sports drinks
Even though sports drinks sound healthy, they are packed with sugar and acids and the potential for cavities and erosion is very significant. A study of the erosive effect of acidic beverages on the teeth found sports drinks to be the most erosive drinks of the bunch. And that was competing with sodas and energy drinks which are among the most acidic drinks available.

Energy drinks
The same study from above found energy drinks to be the most acidic beverages, compared to sports drinks, sodas, and 100% juice and the second most erosive (second to only sports drinks). So be warned that in additions to wings, energy drinks might very well give you cavities as well.

Other than provide you with energy, food is meant to make you healthy and happy, so don’t stress too much on what you eat as long as you follow a few basic principles which will help your teeth and gums stay healthy.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Why you should find a Primary Care Physician?

Image
Who is a primary care physician? A primary care doctor or physician is the physician you first seen in case you have a health problem. Your primary care doctor will help you get the best care and also talk to medical specialists about your health case so that you can get the best treatment. He or she will be involved in your healthcare for a long time. You will always receive primary medical care in an outpatient setting just like you would do in a doctor’s clinic or office. You may be looking to change your primary care physician or get a new one. Never be worried! To find a doctor near you is an important step towards managing your healthcare. Your primary physician is always your medical “Home”. This is the medical doctor you will visit most mostly if you have medical needs such as routine screening, non-emergency diseases such as sore throat and earaches, wellness visits and when you need someone to ask of health questions or conce...
Read more

Genetic Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (GSID)

Image
Sucrose or table sugar is a disaccharide that is made up of two simple sugars linked together by glycosidic bonds. The two simple sugars are glucose and fructose. Maltose is also another disaccharide made up of two glucose molecules. Human beings cannot absorb sucrose or maltose directly from the small intestines to the blood stream. Therefore, two enzyme known as Sucrase and Isomaltase are needed to cleave sucrose and maltose into glucose and fructose which are simple sugars (monosaccharide) that can be absorbed from the digestive track to the blood stream. If there is absence or low levels of sucrose and isomaltase, then a person is unable to break down sucrose or starch. What is GSID? Genetic Sucrase-Isomaltase Deficiency (GSID) is a rare genetic disorder that affects one’s ability to digest sucroseor maltose due to low levels or absence of two digestive enzymes, Isomaltase and Sucrase. Sucrase and Isomaltase are two enzymes that are associated with digestion of starch and ...
Read more

Benefits of Social Media States Healthcare

Image
Many social media tools are available for health care professionals (HCPs), including social networking platforms, blogs, microblogs, wikis, media-sharing sites, and virtual reality and gaming environments.These tools can be used to improve or enhance professional networking and education, organizational promotion, patient care, patient education, and public health programs.  Social media provide HCPs with tools to share information, to debate health care policy and practice issues, to promote health behaviors, to engage with the public, and to educate and interact with patients, caregivers, students, and colleagues. HCPs can use social media to potentially improve health outcomes, develop a professional network, increase personal awareness of news and discoveries, motivate patients, and provide health information to the community. Physicians most often join online communities where they can read news articles, listen to experts, research medical developments, cons...
Read more