Besides brushing your teeth twice a day or flossing daily, it is very important to have a healthy and balanced diet. There are some substances in certain foods that are bad for your oral health. If you have good oral health, you are saved from many dangerous diseases like heart problems, diabetes, cancer etc. Additionally, a maintained healthy diet makes sure that your oral hygiene is intact, along with your overall health.
The things you eat affects your health, after all, you are what you eat. Our mouth is the entryway for many bacteria or fungi but normally some of the bacteria preexist in our mouth. If these bacteria are mixed with sugary or starchy foods, it makes a sticky substance in our mouth, which is commonly known as plaque. This sticky substance, filled with bacteria, is very damaging to our teeth, as it may lead to tooth decay. Snacks that are high in sugar or starch causes the bacteria in our mouth to release an acid that may dissolve our tooth enamel, which protects the surface of the teeth, if the enamel is dissolved it can cause cavities and other diseases. These types of things may cause tooth problems that only a dentist can solve, or if you can not bear the pain, Emergency provides best emergency dental care in the UK at any time of the day.
There are many foods that are bad for our oral health, some of them are:
- BREAD
Bread is a starchy food. When you eat bread, some carbohydrates from the starch are left inside the mouth so when bacteria act on these carbohydrates it breaks them down into sugar, bacteria can feed on these sugars to produce an acid that may lead to tooth decay.
- SOUR CANDIES
It is of no shock that candies are bad for our teeth, especially the hard candies. These candies contain different kinds of substances that leave a terrible influence on the teeth. These candies put the teeth at risk, as the teeth are exposed to sugar for such a long time. Oftentimes, the same candies attach themselves to the teeth, which can result in tooth decay.
- COFFEE
Not all coffee is good. Tea and coffee, in their natural forms, are a healthy choice of beverages. The frequent intake of coffee can also stain the teeth and can also cause drying of the mouth, so make sure to drink water after you consume coffee.
- ALCOHOL
Drinking alcohol is definitely not a healthy choice. Frequent drinking of alcohol can cause the mouth to dry, when our mouth is dry it lacks saliva. Saliva is very important to maintain good oral hygiene; as it protects the teeth by washing away the food particles that are stuck on the teeth.
- ICE
Many people think that it is good to chew on ice as it is made of water after all and has no sugar or additives in it, but actually, it is very bad for the teeth. If you chew on hard substances, it can break down the enamel of the teeth resulting in a broken or chipped tooth.
- CITRUSY FOODS
Drinks, like orange juice or lemonade, are very tasty and filled with vitamin C but frequent intake of these drinks can cause the enamel to decay, which causes the teeth to be more vulnerable and to decay.
- CRUNCHY FOODS
Foods, like potato chips, are very high in starch which gets stuck in between your teeth. The starch is then converted into sugar which then feeds the bacteria and helps in making plaque, so it is very important to brush and floss to remove these remaining food particles.
- CARBONATED DRINKS
The sugary drinks produce an acid, which breaks down the hard surface of our tooth known as enamel. Drinking soda can also dry out your mouth meaning you have less saliva. Dark coloured sodas can also stain the teeth.
- DRIED FRUITS
Dried fruits are a healthy snack, but many dry fruits, like figs and raisins etc. are sticky and they stick to the teeth leaving behind a lot of sugar so if you eat dry fruits, it is better to rinse your mouth afterwards.
- TOMATOES
Foods that are high in acid are bad for our teeth. Tomatoes, when eaten alone, have a lot of acid in them. Tomatoes are maybe healthy when they are prepared in a meal but make sure to rinse your mouth after eating tomatoes.
If you want perfect oral hygiene, you must avoid excessive intake of these foods.