NE Calgary Dentists – Dr’s Dhesi, Dhillon, Minhas and Chattha – make it a priority to share tips on how to keep your oral health in tip-top condition. Obviously, visiting a Calgary Dentist regularly is a great start to maintaining healthy teeth and gums – but what about other influences like food choices – which foods help to keep your teeth shining bright, and which foods contribute to tooth decay and premature tooth loss?
When your nutrition is lacking your entire immune system is affected – leading to vulnerability to develop disorders such as periodontal disease. Recent studies have discovered the correlation between systemic health and oral health; with conditions like diabetes and cardiovascular disease being directly affected by the condition of a person’s oral health. Can you believe that there may be more bacteria in the mouth then people on earth!! Yikes – that’s motivation to go brush your teeth. And though the large amount of bacteria found in an individual’s mouth seems alarming – not all of the bacteria is harmful. Some bacteria is healthy and essential to destroying other harmful bacteria – the concern is when the balance between healthy and bad bacteria is lost – and lack of effective home care, dental cleanings, and good nutritional choices all contribute to raising the level of harmful bacteria in the mouth.
Lack of good nutrition impacts every cell in the body – including teeth and gums – and bad food choices that are loaded with sugars and starch contributes to the formation of plaque and inflammation in the mouth. When you eat starchy food you’re not just satisfying your own hunger pangs but the cravings of bacteria living in your mouth. And when you have a late night snack sugary snack and then jump in to bed without brushing your teeth (you wouldn’t do that) the acid that is produced by plaque (bacteria), to break down the sugar on the teeth, eats away at enamel and weakens teeth. Plaque also releases toxins that contribute to the destruction of gum tissue and bone – so brushing and flossing regularly along with eating less starchy, sugary food, and avoiding sugary drinks, is the first line of defense in keeping your mouth healthy.
Calgary General Dentists at Discover Dental in NE Calgary want you to make smart food choices not just for your dental health, but your overall health. So, what should you be snacking on to keep your teeth healthy? How about loading up on fresh fruit and vegetables, cheese and yoghurt, sugar-free gum, and drink plenty of water or green tea. Green tea is rich in polyphenols – an antioxidant – which helps to break down bad bacteria in the mouth.