Fueling Your Smile: The Crucial Link Between Diet and Oral Health
You probably already realize that maintaining a balanced diet offers a host of benefits to your overall health. But did you know diet also directly affects the health of your teeth and gums? Schaefer Dental Group encourages a nutritious diet for all our patients in Lansing, Michigan, starting before birth.
A baby’s teeth begin forming in the sixth week of pregnancy. During this time, an expectant mother needs nutrients like calcium, vitamin D, phosphorous, and protein. Throughout life, oral tissues are constantly recycling; they need a variety of nutrients to support this process. Nutritional deficiencies can reduce resistance to disease and hinder your ability to fight infection. Eating a high intake of fruits and vegetables also reduces the risk for oral cancer.
Eating Healthy for Your Mouth and Body
While specific dietary needs vary, a health-promoting diet is based on the concepts of:
- Variety: No single food can meet all of the daily nutrient requirements.
- Balance: Eat the recommended amounts of foods from specific categories daily.
- Moderation: Consume foods in appropriate serving sizes, controlling calories, fat, and—particularly important for teeth—sugar.
Protecting Your Teeth from Decay and Erosion
Your diet (including what you drink) plays a major role in tooth decay and enamel erosion. Harmful bacteria in your mouth thrive on a steady supply of sugar. As they process sugar, these bacteria produce acids that can eat into the enamel, forming cavities.
Sugar and Acid: The Double Threat
- Limit Added Sugar: It is important to avoid food and drinks with added sugar. Choose fresh fruit or yogurt instead of processed sweets. Fortunately, sugars in whole grain foods, whole fruits, and vegetables are not harmful to teeth.
- Beware of Soft Drinks: Soft drinks are a double whammy for teeth. Many contain lots of sugar and are also highly acidic, meaning they erode teeth on contact, even if they are sugar-free. Avoid soda, sports drinks, and energy drinks.
Tips for Protection
- If you occasionally have a soda, swish some water in your mouth afterwards—but do not brush your teeth for at least an hour! Brushing immediately after acid exposure can erode already softened enamel.
- Drinking lots of water maintains a healthy supply of saliva, which protects teeth by neutralizing acid.
- You can neutralize acid after a sugary snack by following it up with a piece of cheese.
- Limit Snacking: Snacking throughout the day, especially on chips, crackers, cookies, or candy, means your saliva never gets a chance to neutralize the harmful acids. Eat sweets only at mealtimes.