There are many aspects to keeping your teeth healthy and strong, and this is not a problem you can attack on any single front. Many people mistakenly believe that they can get white and healthy and strong teeth simply by brushing well and brushing regularly, but actually this is unfortunately not the case and it takes much more to have truly healthy teeth including lifestyle and diet changes. Here we will look at how diet effects your teeth and some of the changes you should make to ensure yours are as healthy as possible.
Things to Eat More Of
Firstly there are some things you can get in your diet that are very good for your teeth and that you should get as much of as possible. For instance one of the best things you can do for your teeth is to simply increase the amount of water you drink. By drinking more water you will be able to help wash out your mouth as the water does away with bits of left-over food. Furthermore though, by drinking more water you are able to help your body to produce more saliva.
This is very good news because that saliva is an antibacterial agent that will help your teeth to get rid of bacteria and plaque and thus help avoid fillings and abscesses. Furthermore, drinking lots of water can help you to avoid bad breath, and actually the main reason our breath tends to smell funky in the mornings is because we haven’t been producing as much saliva as normal through the night..
The other thing you should increase your intake of is fiber. Fiber gets consumed by doesn’t get broken down and digetsted in the same way that many other food groups do. As such it is able to act almost like a tiny tooth brush in the mouth and to scrape the grime and the bacteria off of your teeth as you eat it.
Things to Eat Less Of
Meanwhile though there are also things you should eat less of of course and the number one culprit here is sugary snacks. This includes all sweets and chocolates as the sugar in these sources can otherwise provide fuel in your mouth for bacteria that thrives off of it. By eating things like toffee or chocolate you basically provide the bacteria already in your mouth with food it can eat and this then leads to more plaque because this is caused by the bacteria.
Likewise you should also avoid things that are too acidic where possible. The reason for this is that the acid can actually wear away the protective enamel from your teeth which means you are more likely to experience problems, and at the same time means your teeth are more likely to stain.
Then of course you also need to stay away from staining agents if you want your teeth to remain white, and so if you’re a big tea drinker this is something you should start to limit as much as possible for instance.