Can Nutrition Affect Your Smile?

A well-balanced diet is essential for your overall health. Eating plenty of fruits and vegetables and minimizing high-fat foods can reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and serious health conditions. Your nutrition habits also affect your smile; some foods can make your teeth stronger and healthier, and other foods can weaken your teeth and contribute to damage and decay.

Foods That Can Improve/Protect Your Teeth

In addition to daily brushing and flossing, try some of these foods to give your teeth an extra little boost:

• Cheese. Eating cheese can help you maintain strong teeth because it is rich in calcium, a mineral that strengthens bone density. Cheese also has very little sugar, so it won’t contribute to tooth decay.

• Carrots and Celery. Crunchy, fibrous vegetables like carrots and celery are great for teeth because their texture acts like a natural toothbrush. They require a lot of chewing and have a high water content, which stimulates saliva production and helps to wash away food debris.

• Water. Fluoridated water can protect your teeth from cavities. Water also washes away food particles and improves saliva production.

Foods That Can Damage Your Teeth

• Candy. Candy has a lot of sugar, making it your teeth’ worst enemy. Too much candy greatly increases your risk of cavities.

• Ice. Some people enjoy eating ice. However, ice is too hard to chew safely and can damage your teeth, causing them to crack or chip.

• Darkly colored drinks. Though they are not bad for your dental health, coffee, red wine, and other darkly colored drinks can leave dark, unattractive stains on the surfaces of your teeth.

Our staff at Hale Family Dentistry can help you learn more about your nutritional habits that may be affecting your dental health. Call or stop by our office if you would like more information.