Proper nutrition is about more than simply maintaining your wellness and wellbeing and keeping the weight off – it is also about caring for one of the most important areas of your body: your mouth. A good diet can help to keep your mouth healthy, and by following our simple rules, you will stand a better chance of having good oral health.
- Don’t snack between meals. Snacks tend to contain high levels of sugar, which causes plaque acid to form. This causes the teeth to begin to decay. Every time you eat, it also takes about 40 minutes for your saliva to protect your mouth again, which means that if you are constantly snacking, you don’t leave your teeth enough time to recover each time.
- Avoid foods with refined sugar in. Refined sugar is bad for your health overall, but for your teeth it can cause a lot of damage through decay and damage. Naturally occurring sugar in fruit is thought to be ok, but you should aim to stay away from all of the other types of sugar, such as that in sweets and chocolate, as well as sugary drinks.
- Acid is also very bad for the teeth. It softens the smooth surfaces of the tooth and can cause dental erosion. Most fizzy drinks and sports drinks, as well as many citrus juices, contain high levels of acidity, and should be avoided as much as possible. Pickles are also a source of acid.
- Calcium, which is an essential mineral for keeping your bones and teeth strong and healthy, should be included in the diet as much as possible. It can be found in many dairy products such as cheese, yoghurt and milk, and in leafy greens such as pak choy and broccoli.