Not All The Food That You Eat Are Good For Your Teeth

This is the first of a two-part series that discusses the effect of foods on our teeth. Part One will review those foods considered harmful to the teeth, and Part Two will discuss foods that can actually help to rebuild them.

Generally, more attention is given to the former than the latter. From a viewpoint of prevention, this has its value. Nevertheless, a good understanding of which foods are beneficial to dental health is, in my opinion, of no lesser importance. In actual fact, this understanding may hold the key to not only improving an individual's dental health, but very possibly their general health as well.

There are many foods that are great for your teeth, like carrots. Carrots can exercise your jaw and can also help to keep your teeth white as well. But just as there are many good foods for your teeth, there are many bad foods for your teeth as well. Take dark sodas. Dark sodas, teas, and coffee can stain our teeth very quickly, and if you have more than one or two cups of the stuff in a day, you're well on your way to getting stained teeth, even if you brush at least twice a day. Red meats can also cause staining on the teeth, if they're cooked rare enough, and there are many foods that can do the same. So what types of foods should you eat? Stick with foods that are lighter in color. If, for instance, you must have soda, try going with a soda that is clear. If you must have darker drinks, try using a straw so that you can bypass your teeth.

But those lozenges that you're sucking when you have a sore throat can't do any harm, and neither can the antacid that keeps the pain away, can they? Actually, they can. These types of things actually have a great deal of sugar in them, and the more sugar you put in your mouth, the more at risk you are of getting things like cavities. Breath mints and cough drops have a lot of sugar in them so that people will want to suck on them and will purchase them. How many of these things do you put in your mouth every day?

If you're trying to avoid cavities, and to avoid having to seek out a mercury free dentist, make sure that you stay as far away from things that blatantly have sugar in them like these types of things. Look at the label before you purchase the product and look for ingredients that are basically sugar, such as dextrose or sucrose. You should be able to find things like cough drops or breath mints that do not have sugar, or have a very low amount of sugar, in them.

Dentists generally spend the bulk of their time discussing the importance of hygiene. I, too, have addressed this topic in several articles. Nevertheless, over time, I have come to see the value of spending a great deal more time with patients reviewing and modifying their diets. Truthfully, this is more challenging - and meets with greater resistance. But it is vitally important.You can find dental office supplies from www.zetadental.co.uk.

Sugar and Sweeteners. The first category I will mention is the one nearly everyone focuses upon and possibly falls into the category of "common knowledge." Despite this fact, you might be surprised by the quantities of sugars and sweeteners that are regularly consumed in a typical diet. When the quantity of sugar in the blood rises it upsets the balance of calcium to phosphorus in the blood as well. This has the effect of pulling calcium out of our teeth and bones. Low phosphorus levels likewise affect the mineral content of dentin, which is the layer of tooth structure supporting tooth enamel.

Low Fat Foods. This includes such items as skimmed or low-fat milk, which many individuals assume helps their teeth if they consume it in sufficient quantities. Unfortunately, this is a fallacy that gets many people in trouble. Milk that is homogenized and pasteurized has been stripped of its nutritive value. Pasteurization kills off the probiotic (good bacteria) quality of raw natural milk. Paradoxically, this can allow pathogenic (bad) bacteria to grow more easily in pasteurized milk. Also, the absence of healthy fat can affect hormonal function which, in turn, may affect mineral levels adversely.