Good teeth and oral hygiene go hand in hand. Even if you are lucky enough to be blessed with teeth less prone to cavities, maintaining good oral hygiene is essential in life for social and dietary reasons. Digestion begins in your mouth with saliva, chewing and swallowing. What you eat and drink directly influences your oral health.The most common problems are dental cavities, gingivitis (receding gums), and bad breath (halitosis). Most of these are addressed in the subsections above, so let us have a look at indirect prevention here instead. Seemingly unrelated but did you know you can actually help yourself to better teeth by eating the right stuff?. Of course, you did, but still.
| Fruits & veg |
These two together should take up half your plate at meals. Being rich in water and fiber, so they offer an optimal balance of natural sugars. Chewing also aids saliva production, which helps getting acids and food particles away from teeth. They are also great sources of vitamin C (wounds heal quicker and gums stay stronger) and vitamin A ( essential for building tooth enamel). |
| Grains |
Eat whole wheat bread, brown rice and oatmeal – so mainly whole grains. |
| Dairy |
Dairy is high in calcium, which helps building tooth enamel. Choose low-fat products often. Tofu is also benefical for the same reason. |
| Protein |
Go for lean beef, fish or skinless poultry. Mix your protein intake, also include eggs, beans, peas and legumes. Seafood can do wonders, consume around 1/4 kg per week. All of these are rich in phosphorus, which is beneficial for the tooth enamel |
Do not eat or drink much between meals (water is always good). If you are keen on snacking, make it something healthy and nutritious like nuts, cheese, yogurt, fruits or vegetables. Snacking on sweets and chips is just choosing tooth decay. The reason why you can reduce your cavity risk by not consuming sugar is that oral bacteria live on simple carbohydrates. Sugar substitutes do not create acids that would lead to tooth decay in your mouth, so they are not unhealthy in this aspect.
Some food and drinks are best avoided because their added sugar content is dangerously high (in descending order): soft/energy drinks, grain-based desserts, dairy-based desserts and candy. Dried fruits, including raisins, are okay choices for a healthy diet, but fresh fruit is better because the dried ones tend to stick to your teeth. So, just do not eat or drinks things with added sugar especially if they are sticky.