Different Foods and How They Affect Your Teeth

While your dentist West Palm Beach can offer you crowns, fillings, and tooth whitening procedures to improve your smile, taking measures to prevent oral health problems is the best option. Brushing and flossing both help you prevent stains and cavities, but you also need to eat right. The foods you eat have a huge impact on the health of your teeth, and some foods can cause serious damage. Here’s a look at different foods and how they can affect your teeth.

Acidic Foods

Acidic foods and drinks, such as citrus juices and fruits, offer many great nutrients, but they aren’t great for your teeth. These highly acidic fruits have the potential to erode your tooth enamel. While adding slices of lemon and limes to your water may seem like a healthy option, doing so too often may not be great for your teeth. Drink plain water as much as possible and especially limit your consumption of lemons and grapefruits.

Candy

Candy is packed with sugar, and sugar, unfortunately, causes cavities. While those sweets may taste great, they can do big time damage to your teeth and leave you sitting at your dentist West Palm Beach with a toothache and a cavity. Sticky, chewy candies are the worst, since they stick between and on teeth for long periods, which allows the bacteria in your mouth to feast on the sugar. Those bacteria use the sugar to make acids, which can dissolve tooth enamel and cause the development of cavities. Sour candies, which are sugary and acidic, cause even more problems for your teeth.

Coffee and Wine

Coffee offers a great way to wake up, and it has some health benefits as well. However, coffee has the potential to stain your teeth if you drink it regularly. Wine also can cause stains to your teeth over time. Unfortunately, the caffeine in caffeinated coffees can also result in dry mouth, which can make you more prone to developing cavities. All the add-ons you put in coffee can also cause problems, since many people add sugar to their coffee. If you do drink coffee, skip the sugar, and once you’re done drinking, make sure you drink plenty of water to help clean your teeth and prevent stains.

Bread

Most people don’t think about bread as a problem for their oral health, but unfortunately, when you begin chewing on bread, saliva begins breaking down starches. Those starches almost immediately convert into sugar. Bread and other starches often turn into a soft, sweet paste that sticks to teeth, offering a great feast for the bacteria that cause cavities. If you eat bread and other starches regularly, you’re increasing your risk for cavities. If you do eat these items, make sure you drink plenty of water with the food and brush your teeth and floss 30-45 minutes after eating.

Don’t forget, the foods and drinks you consume have an impact on your oral health. Talk to your Dentist West Palm to learn more about what you should and should not eat for optimal oral health.