Food and Oral Health
10:17 AM
To prevent cavities and maintain good oral health, your diet -- what you eat and
how often you eat -- are important factors. Changes in your mouth start the
minute you eat certain foods. Bacteria in the mouth convert sugars from the
foods you eat to acids, and it's the acids that begin to attack the enamel on
teeth, starting the decay process. The more often you eat and snack, the more
frequently you are exposing your teeth to the cycle of decay.
Mouth-Healthy Foods and Drinks
The best food choices for the health of your mouth
include cheeses, chicken or other meats, nuts, and milk. These foods are
thought to protect tooth enamel by providing the calcium and phosphorus needed
to remineralize teeth (a natural process by which minerals are redeposited in
tooth enamel after being removed by acids).
Other food choices include firm/crunchy fruits (for
example, apples and pears) and vegetables. These foods have a high water
content, which dilutes the effects of the sugars they contain, and stimulate
the flow of saliva (which helps protect against decay by washing away food particles
and buffering acid). Acidic foods, such as citrus fruits, tomatoes, and lemons,
should be eaten as part of a larger meal to minimize the acid from them.
Poor food choices include candy -- such as
lollipops, hard candies, and mints -- cookies, cakes, pies, breads, muffins,
potato chips, pretzels, french fries, bananas, raisins, and other dried fruits.
These foods contain large amounts of sugar and/or can stick to teeth, providing
a fuel source for bacteria. In addition, cough
drops should be used only when necessary as they, like sugary candy, contribute
to tooth decay because they continuously coat the teeth with sugar.
The best beverage choices include water (especially
fluoridated water), milk, and unsweetened tea. Limit your consumption of
sugar-containing drinks, including soft drinks, lemonade, and coffee or tea
with added sugar. Also, avoid day-long sipping of sugar-containing drinks --
day-long sipping exposes your teeth to constant sugar and, in turn, constant
decay-causing acids.
Sugar Substitutes and Sugar-Free
Products
Sugar substitutes are available that look and taste
like sugar; however, they are not digested the same way as sugar, so they don't
"feed" the bacteria in the mouth and therefore don't produce
decay-causing acids. They include: erythritol, isomalt, sorbitol, and mannitol.
Other sugar substitutes that are available in the U.S. include saccharin,
aspartame (marketed as Equal), acesulfame potassium (marketed as Sunett), and
sucralose (marketed as Splenda).
Sugarless or sugar-free food sometimes simply means
that no sugar was added to the foods during processing. However, this does not
mean that the foods do not contain other natural sweeteners, such as honey,
molasses, evaporated cane sugar, fructose, barley malt, or rice syrup. These
natural sweeteners contain the same number of calories as sugar and can be just
as harmful to teeth.
To determine if the sugarless or sugar-free foods
you buy contain natural sweeteners, examine the ingredients label. Words that
end in '-ose' (like sucrose and fructose) usually indicate the presence of a
natural sweetener. On the label, look under sugars or carbohydrates.
Is Chewing Gum OK for Teeth?
Chewing sugarless gum is actually beneficial to
your teeth as chewing helps dislodge food that becomes stuck to your teeth and
also increases saliva flow to buffer (neutralize) mouth acids. Some gums
contain ingredients that can reduce cavities as well as heal areas on the teeth
where cavities are beginning. Chewing gum can be a problem, however, if you
have jaw pain or other issues with your jaw.
Teeth and Gum Care Tips
These are some basic tips for caring for teeth and
gums:
•
Brush your teeth regularly. Brush at least twice a
day and preferably after every meal and snack.
•
Use a fluoride-containing toothpaste.
•
Floss at least once a day.
•
Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and
cleanings -- typically twice a year.
Eat a variety of foods to maintain overall health. Eat fewer foods
containing sugars and starches between meals. If you must snack, choose
nutritious foods, such as cheese, raw vegetables, plain yogurt, or a firm fruit
(such as an apple).
“Diet and Oral Health” reviewed by Alfred D. Wyatt Jr., DMD. Read more: http://www.webmd.com/oral-health/guide/diet-oral-health?page=2
Best Teen Diets recommends healthy well balanced eating that includes
fruits, vegetables, whole grains, protein and low-fat or fat-free dairy. We
offer nutrition information for teens, parents and educators that emphasizes
the importance of healthy eating for teens. For more information visit www.bestteendiets.org
1 comments
Excellent sharing.You have shared a really good information. Really choice of food is very important for health. Thanks for sharing such article here.
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