What you eat matters for your health, especially for your teeth and gums. Foods and beverages can lead to plaque, which can cause tooth decay and gum disease. Plaque is a thin, invisible, sticky film that is filled with bacteria and can do serious damage to your teeth. When you eat a sugary snack, the sugars come in contact with plaque and form acids. These acids can attack and break down your teeth’s enamel, which can result in the development of cavities. The condition will get even worse if you don’t floss or brush your teeth regularly because your plaque can harden and turn into tartar and this leads to the earliest form of gum disease, gingivitis.
Sure, professional whitening, fillings, and crowns can make your teeth stronger, but it is always better to avoid cavities in the first place! Aside from brushing your teeth twice a day, flossing, and getting regular dental check-ups, there is also food you should avoid or at least limit.
Here are foods and beverages you should limit or avoid if you want to keep your bright smile for a long time.
Soda
We all know how too many sugary drinks like soda can be bad for our health. What’s even worse is that the acids in carbonated drinks can harm teeth even more so than the sugar. Carbonated drinks contain phosphoric and citric acids that can erode your tooth enamel. So drinking soda is a really bad combination that will attack your teeth enamel. Even “diet” soda is just as bad. A study also found that drinking carbonated drinks in large doses can be as damaging to your teeth as using crack cocaine and methamphetamine.
Sweets
It’s probably not surprising that sweets and candy is the culprit of many problems in the mouth. Chewy candy like taffy and caramels tend to stick between your teeth for a long time, causing the bacteria in your mouth to feast on the sugar. However, hard candies are also bad. While they don’t cling to your teeth, they dissolve slowly and saturate your mouth for several minutes at one time, which gives bacteria in your mouth time to produce harmful acids. Also, if you bite down incorrectly on hard candies, they can possibly chip your teeth!
Bread
Bread may look harmless, but eating too much can be really harmful. Why? Because when you eat bread, your saliva breaks down the starches in it into sugar. Then the breadsticks to the crevices between your teeth and causes cavities.
Alcohol
It’s not a secret that alcohol is not healthy for your body. Besides, when you drink alcohol, your mouth can get really dry. A dry mouth means it lacks saliva, and saliva is important to keep our teeth healthy. Saliva helps prevent food from sticking to your teeth. It also helps repair early symptoms of gum disease, tooth decay, and other oral diseases. If you have to have alcohol, make sure you also drink plenty of water.
Potato Chips
Potato chips or crisps may seem nice, especially the crunch. The bad news is, they’re full of starch. And just like bread, your saliva will break down the starches into sugar that can get trapped between your teeth. It is hard to only eat one potato chips, we tend to eat a bag because it’s satisfying and delicious. The best thing you can do if you can’t live without potato chips is by flossing. Flossing can help you remove the trapped particles.
Citrus
Citrus fruits and juices are filled with vitamin C and numerous other nutrients. Yes, they are good for you in many ways, except when it comes to your teeth. They contain acid that can erode your teeth enamel over time. The acid makes your teeth a lot more vulnerable to decay. You can still consume them, but make sure to eat or drink them in moderation at mealtime and don’t forget to rinse with water afterward.