Your Diet Is Important To Your Oral Health

When it comes to your health, you probably know that your diet contributes a lot. However, did you know that what you eat also affects your teeth, both directly and indirectly?

For example, the amount of sugar that you eat affects the surface of your teeth because the more sugar you have in your diet, the more bacteria has a chance to grow in your mouth, which leads to cavities and gum disease. So watching what you eat is not only good for the waistline, it’s also good for oral health!

Here are some foods and beverages that you should include in your diet in order to have healthy teeth:

Calcium-rich Foods

Having a lot of calcium in your diet gives you strong bones and strong teeth! Make sure to have a lot of dairy items in your diet, such as milk, cheese, and yogurt. When teeth are strong, they have a better chance of resisting bacterial infections and tooth decay.

Vitamin C-rich Foods

You can get vitamin C from citrus fruits such as oranges and lemons, as well as berries. Potatoes are also high in vitamin C. Vitamin C helps repair tissue damage, as well as fight off infections. When you eat foods that are high in vitamin C, you are slowing down bacterial growth in your mouth. You are also preventing gum disease.

Water

Yes, this simple liquid helps your oral health tremendously. Aside from washing out plaque and food particles from your mouth, water makes sure that your mouth stays hydrated and producing saliva, so that bacterial growth is retarded.

Make sure to avoid sugary and acidic foods, such as candies and soda, since they eat away at your teeth’s enamel. Also, avoid from crunching down on ice, because hard surfaces can damage your teeth if you’re not careful.

Here at McKinneyDentist.Com, we are interested in you having excellent over-all health.  Research has proven that our diets can have a profound effect on our oral health and the health of our bodies.

For instance; heart disease has been directly linked to gum disease (link to gum disease page here).  So having healthy teeth and gums can help prevent heart related diseases.