You brush twice a day and floss after meals. Yet, you still end up with cavities while maintaining good dental habits.
Do you just have bad dental DNA? Or, is there something else behind why your teeth just don’t seem to be strong.
You may want to look at your diet, then. It could very well be the food that you are eating causing your teeth to be a challenge to take care of.
There are some foods that eat away at your teeth very quickly after eating and if you don’t brush right away they can wreak havoc.
In this article, I will go over some of the food you really need to avoid if you want to keep your health in good shape.
1 – Sour candies
These candies can be addictive, but you have to resist. If you really want to avoid your dentist in Royal Palm Beach, then you have to give these up.
Sour candies are like napalm for your teeth. They stick to the tooth so all the sugars and acids are able to eat away at the enamel for much longer than other sweets. And, yes, they have acid in them. The sweetness comes from a combination of citric acid and tartaric acid.
They also have tons of sugar which we all know causes plaque and is terrible for your teeth in general. Gummy bears and other similar candies that aren’t sour will also do a number since they have so much sugar that sticks to your teeth.
If you have a sweet tooth, eat anything besides these and then brush right away afterward.
2 – Processed bread
Sliced bread in a bag in the supermarket aisles is almost as bad as eating candy. They are full of sugar and preservatives that are terrible for your overall health, but especially your teeth.
White bread that doesn’t have lots of sugar added still is bad for your teeth. The starch in processed bread turns to sugar very quickly and will eat away at your enamel in much the same way the sour candies do. The bread easily sticks to your teeth so the constant contact allows more time for the decay to happen.
Make your own bread and use whole grains instead of processed white flour. And brush your teeth quickly afterward.
3 – Soda and soft drinks
There is absolutely no reason to be drinking soda. If you have sensitive teeth or are having a problem with cavities even when you brush and floss regularly, then soda is likely the culprit.
Soda is full of empty calories. There is no nutritional value at all and the sugar amounts to eating a candy bar. If you drink several sodas a day then you can imagine how much sugar is stuck on your teeth.
Soda is a double-edged sword as the carbonation allows plaque to turn to acid which attacks your teeth faster.
Stop drinking soda altogether as even brushing your teeth right after drinking one doesn’t help. In fact, brushing right after may even spur on the decay.
4 – Citrus fruits
Fruit like oranges, clementines and lemon all contain acid. Lots of acid. If you are noticing a trend here then you are already aware that acid and sugar combine for maximum damage to your teeth.
Even if you like a squeeze of lemon in your water to give it flavor in order to avoid soda, you are still damaging your teeth.
If you have sensitive teeth, then the acid can be quite painful. Now, you are likely eating these fruits for the boost in Vitamin C and for the antioxidant properties. They can be quite healthy in many other ways. If you do eat citrus fruit, make sure it is at the end of a meal. And brush your teeth soon after to remove the acid.
5 – Potato chips
Remember the thing about the starch in bread turning to sugar? Well, the same thing happens when you eat potato chips. The starch turns to sugar and sticks to your teeth since the chips form a paste when they are chewed.
Think of how easily you get a mash of chips stuck in your molars when you eat them. That contact is harmful so make sure you brush and floss right away after you eat them. Or, just don’t eat them anymore anyway.
6 – Alcohol and cocktails
There are two ways that alcohol can do a number on your teeth. First, it dries out your mouth. When you don’t have much saliva and have dry mouth, bacteria is able to flourish. You need saliva to keep the bad bacteria at bay and allow the good bacteria in your mouth to do its thing.
The second way is the introduction of sugar and acid if you drink cocktails. A mojito sounds great, but the lime juice and sugar combined with the alcohol is bad news for your teeth.
A glass of wine contains quite a bit of acid too and can stick to your teeth causing quick decay. Not only that, but red wine can discolor your teeth.
If you do plan to drink wine then, you guessed it, make sure you brush your teeth right away. Stay hydrated by drinking water alongside your cocktail to keep your mouth from drying out.
Conclusion
It is probably going to be impossible to avoid all of these foods all the time. If you do have problems with your teeth, though it is very important to eliminate or at least reduce how much you eat of these foods.
And I can’t stress enough how soda should just not be consumed ever if you have frequent dental issues or want to avoid any.
Take your dental health seriously as it can affect other parts of your overall health. You can end up with infections in other parts of your body due to the bacteria in your mouth from decaying or infected teeth.
