Life of Guangzhou - Eat for Healthy Teeth

IT'S often been said, "You are what you eat." That saying holds true for your teeth as well.

Your mouth is full of bacteria, which settle on your teeth and dine on food particles left behind long after you've finished eating. This build up of bacteria on your teeth is plaque. Besides being unsightly, plaque is downright bad for your teeth. It feeds off sugars and starches, producing acids that eat away at your teeth's enamel.

Culprit Foods

Desserts and junk foods are big contributers to cavities. Sugars and starches provide energy for bacteria to grow and reproduce. Some culprit foods are easily identified, such as candy and cookies. But crackers, most peanut butters, and certain vegetables also contain high sugar or carbohydrates.

Other foods that promote the formation of cavities are those that stick to your teeth. The saliva you produce while eating neutralizes the bacteria-produced acid. Swallowing clears the acid from your mouth. However, swallowing or drinking doesn't remove all the bacteria from your mouth. Neither does it remove all the food particles. The foods or cavity-causing microorganisms that have been left behind on your teeth continue to produce enamel-destroying acid.

The Solution

If you need to eat between meals, choose raw vegetables or other healthful snack foods. If you're thirsty, drink water. If you must have soda pop and cheesecake, save them to eat along with your main meal.

To help keep bacterial growth under control, brush and floss immediately after every time you eat. If you're unable to brush your teeth after a meal or snack, chew on a stick of sugarless gum.

With the acid out of the way, minerals in saliva begin to repair damage caused by the acid. The longer the interval between meals, the more any acid damage can be repaired. You'll greatly reduce the harmful effects of foods left behind.

Summary

You don't necessarily need to eliminate breads or candy bars from your diet. Just watch what you eat and when you eat it. By eating healthful meals and limiting or eliminating between-meal snacks, you're doing a lot to protect your teeth from cavities. (By Paula J. Wart)

Sources:

1. Cleaning Your Teeth and Gums (Oral Hygiene). American Dental Association, 2004. Available online at: http://www.ada.org/ public/topics/cleaning.asp. Accessed September 8, 2005.

2. Diet and Oral Health. American Dental Association 2004. Available online at: http://www.ada.org/public/topics/diet_faq.asp. Accessed September 8, 2005.

3. Cavities, Healthy Teeth. Nova Scotia Dental Association. September 2002.

4. Obesity Overtaking Smoking as Greatest Threat to Oral, General Health. American Dental Hygienists' Association. September 2002.