An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, right? The prevention we’re talking about is making an effort to eat properly in order to improve your oral health. The connection between what we eat and the amount of discomfort you might feel in the dental chair later on, is correlated; avoiding sugar and taking good care of your teeth in between dental visits is important.
The goal is to lessen your chances that you’ll have to undergo a root canal or filling later on by eating better now. While we know our lives are hectic and stressed, avoiding processed and sugary foods will help you live a healthier life – and that’s our goal for you.
This article looks at the correlation between eating well and what foods to avoid at all costs.
Dr. Hadley Says: Eat This, Not That
Your Las Vegas dentist recommends eating lots of lean protein and fresh fruits and vegetables every day to give your immune system a boost. Drinking water is also important; water hydrates the body, but also flushes away the sugars and food debris that can pile up in the nooks and crannies of your teeth. In addition to these general recommendations, here are a dozen foods that Dr. Hadley says to stay away from:
- Sodas of all kinds have an acid that wears away tooth enamel.
- Be careful with apples and carrots, or other super-crunch foods that can crack weakened teeth. Just cut them into small pieces and you will be fine.
- Hard candy like lollipops bath your teeth in sugar for an extended period of time. Avoid them!
- Chewing on ice, believe or not, is bad for your teeth. (See number 2.)
- Corn on the cob is certainly a no-no for brace-wearers, but it can also crack fillings and sealants. It’s the same if you wear dentures, sadly. But if you cut the corn off the cob, you’ll be fine.
- Pasta sauce actually causes a lot of staining and acid on the teeth. Too, processed sauces have lots of sugar, so read the label before picking your brand. If you’re having pasta tonight, just serve water with the meal to swish the acids away.
- Sadly, white wine has a lot of acid, as well. We all love a good plate of pasta with a glass of wine, right? Just be aware of the issue, and floss and brush after the meal.
- Not only is bottled water bad for the environment, the lack of fluoride in this water is detrimental to your teeth. Tap water is actually better.
- Avoid breath mints for the same reason you’d avoid hard candy. Look for sugar-free or xylitol-sweetened mints instead.
- Skip sticky chew candies or run the risk of losing a filling. At the least, these candies get stuck between teeth in the most stubborn of places and cause decay.
- Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are actually terrible for your teeth. Most processed peanut butters have sugar. So does the typically jar of jelly. Even many types of bread have sugar added! The good news is that you can find no-sugar products that will be just as school-lunch friendly.
- You wouldn’t think potato chips would be an issue. They’re not sugary and they’re like eating air. But the texture of chips ensures that when they crunch up in your mouth, they’re likely to get stuck between your teeth. Hello, bacteria!
There you have it! Contact our office if you have any questions about the best ways to improve your diet and your health.