Foods You Should Avoid to Protect Your Teeth
If protecting your pearly whites is a priority (and it should be!), then implementing a healthy oral routine, such as brushing, flossing and avoiding certain foods can help you keep your teeth
Foods You Should Avoid to Protect Your Teeth
If protecting your pearly whites is a priority (and it should be!), then implementing a healthy oral routine, such as brushing, flossing and avoiding certain foods can help you keep your teeth healthy. Here’s a roundup of some foods that can weaken teeth and allow cavities to form, or stain teeth more easily.
Steer Clear of Sugary Treats
Hard candies, chewy candies, sugary candies–they all wreak havoc on your teeth. Hard candies (think Jolly Ranchers) slowly dissolve, sit in your mouth for a while and give bacteria time to produce harmful acid. A double whammy? Some hard candies are also flavored with citric acid–a known culprit of enamel erosion. Chewy candies such as taffy and caramels get stuck to, and in between, teeth for long periods of time, causing our mouth’s bacteria to feast on the candy’s sugar despotis.
Minimize Drinking These Beverages
If you drink a lot of sugary sodas and are dealing with cavities, your soda intake may be to blame. The acids in carbonated soft drinks have have been found to damage your teeth more than sugar! Thinking of sugar-free diet sodas? The citric and phosphoric acid they contain can erode enamel if consumed in large doses. Other highly acidic drinks, such as Gatorade and Red Bull, should be limited as well.
If the color of your teeth concerns you, consider drinking less coffee, tea and red wine. A not so fun fact? Coffee has been found to stain teeth almost as much as tobacco. For tea and red wine, the tannins found in them (as well as the chromogens in red wine) are the root cause of teeth discoloration.
Avoid Constant Munching on These Acidic Foods and Drinks
When it comes to tooth enamel erosion, acid levels are the main culprit. So which food and drink items should not be on your shopping list? Pickles, tomato products, cranberries and grapefruit, lemon and orange juice. Do you love eating grapefruits and the above foods the way Dr. Jen does? You can still eat them—they’re very good for your health—just rinse out with some water, wait about half an hour for the effects on enamel to wear off, then brush.
If your teeth are beyond the help of preventative measures, then it’s time to contact Dr. Jen! With her in-depth restorative and whitening services, your smile will be back to its healthy, sparkling state in no time! Schedule your free consultation today.