22 Sep 5 Simple Steps to Keep Your Teeth Healthy for Life
We all know that having healthy and cavity-free teeth is important to ‘eat’ your way through life. But did you know what we eat can negatively affect our teeth? GPA Dental advises what is good for teeth and what’s simply not.
Snacking matters
The detrimental effect of dietary acids can be limited by the mouth’s saliva production. Consume sugary and acidic foods during meal times only and limit snacking so that your teeth have time to rest in between meals.
Reduce sugary food
Sugar that is present in the mouth combines with plaque bacteria to form dietary acids, which then attack our teeth and cause tooth decay. Reduce sugar, reduce bacteria.
Choose ‘teethfriendly’ snacks
Load up on cheese, plain yoghurt and nuts for healthy teeth-friendly snacks. Avoid sipping fruit juice, coffee or tea with sugar for long periods of time. Instead, drink plenty of water and milk to give your teeth some much needed downtime (see table below).
Cut out acidic food and drinks
Food and drinks that have a pH of less than 5.5 are acidic and can cause dental erosion, which is the loss of tooth structure (see table below).
Brush twice daily
Know that fuzzy feel on your teeth? That’s plaque caused by bacteria. Prevent tooth decay by brushing regularly with a fluoride toothpaste to disrupt the layer of bacteria and strengthen existing tooth surfaces.