How What you Eat Affects your Teeth

How what you eat affects your teeth
(Photo : pixabay)

We constantly hear how diet influences our health, after all, we know that eating too much of the wrong type of food can make you overweight and lead to you developing dangerous diseases like diabetes and heart disease. However, your diet also impacts the condition of your teeth and poor dental health is likely to compromise your health in more than one way. Broken teeth can cause bacterial infections to develop deep inside the tissue. Bacteria can enter the bloodstream and spread to other parts of the body where they can make you even sicker.

It is, therefore, essential to practice good oral hygiene and part of this is to eat healthy, nutritious foods that help your teeth to stay strong and healthy. Brushing and flossing your teeth often is important but so is following a good diet.

Foods that help the teeth

A balanced diet which contains many fruits and vegetables is important, so is eating enough protein and calcium-rich foods. Fruits and veggies contain chemicals called antioxidants and many vitamins that the cells of your body need for growing and dividing. Malnutrition often leads to health problems and certainly not taking in nutrients can result in several problems with the teeth and other parts of the body. In fact, scientists have found that periodontitis is associated with a deficiency in vitamin C and that some bacteria that are associated with this condition are more abundant when there is a lack of vitamin C.

Calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin D are all important in helping to grow strong bones, including teeth. Eating foods rich in these nutrients is thus important. Dairy products such as cheese, milk and yoghurt are a good source of calcium, and you can often choose a low fat option if you are worried about the fat content of the dairy product. 

Fishes, lean meats, eggs, and nuts provide protein and other useful fatty acids that the body needs. Protein is crucial for the growth of tissues in the body. Eggs and lean meat also have phosphorous present.

You should also make sure that you are getting enough iron. Iron is part of the protein, hemoglobin, found on your blood cells, which carry the oxygen around the body. Your teeth and gums need lots of nutrients and also oxygen to live and grow. People with anemia, which is a lack of iron, are more likely to develop gum problems and tooth decay. You do need to remember, though, that iron is not well absorbed unless taken in with vitamin C. 

Foods that harm the teeth

Some obvious culprits that are bad for teeth include sweets. It is the sugar that feeds bacteria in the mouth and the bacteria that produce acid which eats away the teeth. The other problem with eating too much sugar is that it can lead to your developing type 2 diabetes which is a dangerous condition. 

Also the odds are that if you are eating too much junk food that you are not eating enough nutrient rich food. Also keep in mind that sodas and other drinks can be too high in sugars and very acidic, which also makes the situation worse for your teeth. If you do have dental problems then you can consult with experts who offer dental care options such as fillings, bridges and implants.

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