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Foods to Eat and Foods to Avoid for Good Dental Health
Posted by | Posted in Dental Health | Posted on 22-09-2010
Dental decay is the most common form of disease known to mankind. It is a known fact that any food that contains carbohydrates, when left in contact with teeth for a prolonged period of time, can cause cavities. The normal micro organisms present in the mouth produce acid through fermentation of the carbohydrate. Unfortunately, we see this happen often. As a practicing dentist, I routinely advise my patients to maintain a healthy diet to prevent such problems.
It is important to remember that altering the diet alone cannot guarantee good oral health. But diet does make a difference when it comes to oral health.
The Dos and Don’ts
Food that contains too much sugar, like candy, leads to acid formation. That, in turn, causes cavities. Repeated exposure to such food can be just as bad as prolonged exposure. Sticky food, chips and taffy, can stay stuck to the teeth and be equally bad. The need for brushing teeth after every meal cannot be emphasized enough. Have children brush their teeth right away after they have candy. Flossing on a daily basis provides extra protection for the hard-to-reach surfaces.
Frequent snacking between meals should be avoided. Diets that contain too much acid can cause damage to the tooth structure. Even healthy foods, like milk and orange juice, contain a lot of acid. Soda or any other carbonated drink can be caustic. Also, when combined with the water in the saliva, these carbonated drinks produce carbonic acid. Both forms can cause chemical erosion and a breach in the enamel layer of teeth.
How to Combat Acid
Don’t let any of the acidic food to stay in your mouth for long. Rinse out your mouth immediately. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to neutralize any acid that might be produced in the mouth. Remember, there is no significant difference between the harmful effects of regular soda and diet soda. The difference between the two is only in the amount of calories and not in the degree of damage to the teeth.
Hard food
If you chew a lot of hard foods, like pretzels or ice, you may develop symptoms consistent with teeth grinding. Chewing too hard may also crack the teeth.Fillings and other restorations can become loose because of the constant flexure of the tooth structure. Eat hard food in moderation.
Avoid Extreme Temperatures
Extremely hot or cold food should be avoided. Both metal and resin fillings expand and contract with extreme changes in temperature. As a result the teeth may crack and the fillings may leak.
Do not eat ice cream and then rinse out your mouth with hot water. Even water at room temperature might not be ideal in this situation. Use cold water to rinse out your mouth and allow the teeth to shift to the body temperature gradually. Sudden changes in the temperature produce minute fracture lines in the teeth. Similarly, do not rinse out your mouth with cold water after drinking a cup of hot tea or coffee. Use warm water to do so.
During Pregnancy
A mother’s intake of calcium is crucial to ensure strong bones and teeth in the fetus.
During Childhood
It is necessary to have adequate amounts of calcium in children’s diet. However, a parent’s responsibility does not end there. In terms of improving dental health, a comprehensive approach has to be taken. On top of ensuring good oral hygiene and adequate diet, children have to be encouraged to brush their teeth after every meal.
Changing the Outlook
I would like to mention that we should not be focused on dental health as an isolated entity. We should start thinking about how dietary habits can affect oral health and most importantly, overall health. Some behaviors that are bad for the body also negatively affect oral health. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to oral cancer and liver failure. Smoking can lead to periodontal disease, oral cancer and lung cancer. Eating too much junk food not only increases the risk of cavities, there is likelihood of obesity, diabetes and cardiac problems. Untreated eating disorders can lead to dental problems like chemical erosion of teeth. Skipping meals also result in increased acidity, and therefore, chemical erosion of teeth and Halitosis.
Watch the video related to dental health
When gargling hydrogen peroxide, be sure not to swallow it and consider brushing the teeth with a toothbrush dipped into hydrogen peroxide. Safely gargle hydrogen peroxide with tips from a licensed dental assistant in this free video series on dental health and oral hygiene. Expert: Michelle McPhail Contact: www.MySolutionz.com Bio: Michelle McPhail is a dental tech and the office coordinator at one of the most popular cosmetic dentistry centers in the Tampa Bay area. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz
Help answer the question about dental health
In NYS how does a POP (pre-Tax) plan work for AFLAC, health, & Dental Insurance?Specifically; my payroll service has a client that has AFLAC accident insurance and Health & Dental insurance. They claim to have the AFLAC and dental insurance pre-taxed but not the health? I need to make sure we deduct properly.
The best thing that you can do is maintain a good dental hygiene if you can't have those cavities refilled.
Basically, if you continue to ignore those cavities.. it might get infected and lead to dental caries..
Specifically defined: Dental caries, also known as tooth decay or cavity, is a disease wherein bacterial processes damage hard tooth structure (enamel, dentin and cementum). These tissues progressively break down, producing dental cavities (holes in the teeth). Two groups of bacteria are responsible for initiating caries: Streptococcus mutans and Lactobacilli. If left untreated, the disease can lead to pain, tooth loss, infection, and, in severe cases, death.
@vleon1012 mine is like that too lol
i wanna whiten her teeth
That kid knows exactly how lucky he is.
Michelle MCPHAIL. I <3 her name.
@guitarsly111 its SHE not he…
@guitarsly111 *she
@rachely01 oops
Problem is my teeth are perfect… They have such little gaps between that I can’t even get the floss down, compared to this girl shes got lil grand canyons between
I would love to floss her.