Total oral care goes far beyond just brushing and flossing as well as regular checkups at The Good Dentist.
There are many good habits to adopt to ensure your smile stays bright and beautiful, but don’t overlook the powerful cleansing properties of simple, everyday foods.
The following foods are supercharged foods for your teeth – helping to build healthier teeth and gums, as well as prevent tooth decay and gum disease.
Cheese
Let’s be real. Who doesn’t love cheese? The good news is that cheese is a superfood for teeth due to its ability to fight off acid erosion.
Whenever you eat meals with sweets, citrus, breads, or soda, your teeth are exposed to acids that cause tooth decay. Eating cheese or dairy after a meal can counteract the acid left behind by a meal, making it a great choice for dessert.
Fish
Getting enough calcium in your diet is important in order to protect your teeth and gums from disease. Unfortunately, your body can’t absorb all that calcium if you don’t have enough vitamin D. Fatty fish (such a salmon) is a fantastic source of vitamin D, allowing your teeth and gums to get the full disease-fighting benefits of calcium from the foods you eat.
Water
Did you know that when you don’t drink enough water, your saliva thickens?
Saliva is made up of 99% water and high levels of water in your saliva are essential to the breakdown of food, neutralizing bacterial acid (hello morning breath!) and preventing tooth decay. Water still doesn’t replace a toothbrush and floss, but it can still aid in reducing plaque by rinsing away food debris. Rinsing with water after drinking coffee or having other staining foods can help reduce stains to the teeth.
Fruits and vegetables
No toothbrush handy? Fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber are your next best option. The high fiber content actually helps ‘scrub’ the teeth similar to the way your toothbrush might. Plus it stimulates saliva production because of the extra chewing they require.
Leafy greens like kale, spinach, chard or collard greens are not only full of nutrients, but have high water content and low in calories so you can eat as much as you want. Just steer clear of sugary dressings. Keep fresh carrots, apples, celery or cucumbers on hand as “nature’s toothbrushes” to help promote saliva production and natural scrubbing effects to keep your smile clean and bright.
Green and Black tea
Unsweetened green and black teas contain polyphenols, which is a plaque fighting ingredient. The bacteria in your mouth feeds on sugars and once they are done eating, they excrete acids that destroy your tooth enamel. The polyphenols in tea can combat those acid producing bacteria in your mouth.
Don’t Forget
Eating all these great food will definitely help you love and keep that healthy smile but don’t neglect to schedule regular visits with us at The Good Dentist. We can help you keep that smile looking as great as ever.
