Oral hygiene is important because it can improve your overall heath. Oral health problems can be fatal if they aren’t taken care of properly. We have a list of foods that you should not eat if you want to keep your teeth healthy and protect your body from other problems.
1. Avoid sweet foods
Sugar gives microorganisms in the mouth something to eat. They will grow and multiply faster if there is more food for them. When they eat sugar, they make acids. These acids slowly wear away the enamel on your teeth, which leads to tooth decay and cavities.
2. Carbonated beverages
Sodas are bad for your teeth and overall health. The drinks are very acidic and have a lot of sugar in them, which can lead to cavities and tooth disease. Diet sodas are still very bad for your teeth because the acids in them wear away the enamel on your teeth.
3. Hard or crunchy treats
Hard or crunchy foods are not good for your teeth. When you bite down too hard, your teeth can easily get chips, cracks, or even break. Damaged teeth can let bacteria into the inner layer of your teeth, which makes them even weaker and can lead to gum disease.
4. Candies
Candies that are too sweet, too sticky, or too rough are very bad for your teeth. Sticky candies are hard to get off your teeth with a toothbrush, and the sugar they leave behind is food for germs. One of the most common ways to break or damage teeth is to bite down on hard candies.
5. Foods with starch
White bread and potato chips aren’t the best for your teeth because your saliva turns the starches in them into sugar. The sticky paste-like substance that sticks to the tiny spaces between your teeth can cause cavities and gum disease.
6. Dried fruits
Even though dried fruits seem healthy, they are not very good for your teeth. Dried fruits are sticky and get stuck between teeth and in cracks. This gives bacteria a lot of sugar to feed on. Instead, it’s best to snack on fresh fruits.
7. Alcohol
Many people may know that drinking a lot of alcohol isn’t very good for you. Did you know, though, that drinking makes your mouth dry? For healthy teeth, we need saliva, which isn’t there when our mouths are dry.
Saliva cleans your teeth of leftover food and keeps food from sticking to them. Even gum disease, tooth decay, and other oral infections in their early stages can be fixed with it. To keep your mouth moist, drink a lot of water and use fluoride rinses and products that keep your mouth hydrated.
8. Potato chips
The crunch of a potato chip is fun for many of us. But the chips have a lot of starch. Starch breaks down into sugar, which sticks to and between teeth and feeds the bacteria that make plaque.
We rarely eat just one chip, so the acid we make from them stays with us for a while. After you’ve eaten some, you should floss to get rid of any leftover food.
9. Bread
As you walk down the bread aisle of the grocery store, think twice. When you chew bread, the starches get broken down by your saliva into sugar. When you chew the bread, it turns into a sticky paste that sticks to the spaces between your teeth. So, that can lead to tooth decay.
When you want carbs, choose ones that are less processed, like whole wheat. These have less added sugar and don’t fall apart as easily.
In conclusion
There are a lot of foods you should stay away from if you want to keep your teeth and mouth healthy in the future. Find a dentist in Gaithersburg, Maryland, who can help with that.