Do you have chronic issues with your oral health? Your diet may play a role. At Redondo Beach Dental Center, we want to provide you with the best dental care possible. That includes having a conversation about the foods you eat each day and how they may be impacting your oral health.
How Diet Can Affect Your Oral Health
As a Redondo Beach dentist office, we often see patients who don’t realize their daily habits are affecting their oral health. Making a few changes to your diet could help keep your teeth, gums, and mouth healthy. Here’s how your diet might affect your mouth.
How a Poor Diet Can Harm Your Oral Health
If you’re frequently eating and drinking unhealthy foods and beverages, you may have excessive bacteria or acids in your mouth. Bacteria and acids wear away at your enamel, which makes it more likely that your teeth will become sensitive. The same bacteria can cause plaque and harm your gums, leading to chronic pain, swelling, and gum disease.
An unhealthy diet can also cause a decrease in saliva, which can contribute to tooth decay. That’s because saliva is supposed to neutralize acids and wash away leftover food particles to keep them from sitting in your mouth for too long.
How a Good Diet Can Help Your Oral Health
On the other hand, there are plenty of dietary choices you can make that will help strengthen your teeth and keep them clean. A good diet isn’t about being perfect – it’s about having plenty of variety.
Drinking water is a great option to help wash away bacteria before it can cause any harm. As you probably already know, many vegetables are good for your teeth. Not only do they contain nutrients to keep you healthy, but they also help scrub away the bacteria. Apples, cheese, nuts, and lean proteins are also good choices to help fight plaque!
What to Limit
Sugary foods and drinks, starchy foods, and acidic foods can have a negative impact on your oral health if you eat too many of them on a daily basis.
Most people are well aware that sugary foods and drinks are bad for oral health. Of course, you can still enjoy some sugar! Just try to limit it and ensure that you’re not eating sugar for every meal and snack.
Starchy foods like bread, potato chips, and pasta can stick to your teeth more easily than other foods. If you eat lots of starchy foods and wash them down with a sugary soda, you might be contributing to oral health problems.
Sugary or caffeinated beverages like juice, soda, wine, and coffee are generally not great for your teeth. Again, it’s OK to consume all of these things sometimes, but they shouldn’t be the only beverages you drink. It’s a good idea follow up with a glass of water.
Visit Redondo Beach Dental Center for Your Oral Health
Improving your diet isn’t the only thing you can do to keep your teeth healthy and strong. To keep your mouth healthy, you’ll need to brush and floss regularly. And, don’t forget to visit the Redondo Beach Dental Center for regular cleanings!
