Nutrition & Dental Health
Good nutrition plays a prominent role in your dental health. Brushing and flossing help keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong. However, a balanced diet will help to boost your body’s immune system, leaving you less vulnerable to oral disease.
How often and what you eat have been found to affect your dental health. Eating starchy, sticky or sweet foods causes the bacteria in your mouth to feed on them; they then produce acids which attack your teeth for up to 20 minutes or more. Foods that stick to your teeth or are slow to dissolve give the acids more time to work on destroying tooth enamel:
- Crackers & Breads
- Cookies
- Granola bars
- Chewy fruit snacks
- Dried fruit
- Hard candy
Soda pop has both sugar and acids, and energy drinks are very high in sugar. Sticky and starchy foods create less acid when eaten as part of a meal. Saliva production increases at mealtime, rinsing away food particles and neutralizing harmful acids.
