We often take our teeth for granted, eating and drinking whatever we fancy. The problem is that some foods and beverages can wreck teeth, and if your tooth care routine is sub-par, it won’t be long before you need expensive dental treatment to repair the damage.
People with perfectly aligned teeth are less susceptible to damage caused by food and drink, as it is easier to thoroughly clean their teeth. If your teeth are crooked, you must devote extra attention to cleaning and flossing your teeth twice a day. At home clear aligners can correct minor misalignment, which will help you to keep your teeth nice and clean. This article from Straight My Teeth has a guide to at home brace options. You can order your aligner treatment and complete the process at home.
Read on for a guide to some of the worst foods, so you can make a conscious decision to eliminate them from your diet.
Citrus Fruit
Are you partial to a refreshing glass of hot water with lemon in the morning? It’s well-known as an excellent beverage for cleansing the gut but, unfortunately, citrus fruit is highly acidic and will erode your tooth enamel in the long term. Eating oranges or grapefruit here and there is fine, and they’re a good source of vitamin C, but don’t clean your teeth for 30 minutes afterward. Acidic foods weaken the enamel and brushing too soon will cause further damage.
Dried Fruit
Dried fruit is an excellent source of energy when added to trail mix, but it’s also very sticky. This is why you’ll often find bits of raisin stuck between your teeth after you munch on a handful. The problem with sticky fruit is that it lingers. And because fruit is naturally sweet, it can lead to a build-up of unhealthy bacteria in the mouth. Not great for our teeth!
Sports Drinks
Are you a big fan of sports drinks? Lots of people rely on sports drinks for energy when they work out. Sports drinks are useful, but be wary of the sugar content. High sugar levels are seriously bad for your teeth, and unless you are doing an intense endurance workout, chances are you will be just fine with a bottle of water.
Candy
Hard candy is every child’s dream. All that sugar is delicious! However, if you love to suck on hard candy, eventually you will see the damage in your teeth. As well as encouraging plaque build-up, chow down on a piece of hard candy and you might inadvertently chip a tooth.
Bread
Like dried fruit, bread gets all sticky when you chew it, sticking to the gaps around your teeth. In addition, chewing bread breaks the starch down into sugar, which is bad for tooth enamel. Nobody is saying you must ban all bread from your diet – although it’s not a terrible idea – but if you can’t live without bread, at least choose wholemeal options.
If you want to keep your pearly whites looking healthy and shiny for a long time to come, you’ll need to at least cut down on some of these foods.
Article by Born Realist