Five Foods to Avoid for the Sake of Oral Health

You may eat strategically for your overall health, but do you ever worry about how your menu plans might affect your dental wellness? Here are five things you may regularly consume which could cause trouble for your teeth.

Foods to Avoid for Your Dental Health

  1. Treats: One of the most notorious oral health destroyers is sucrose. Better know…

You may eat strategically for your overall health, but do you ever worry about how your menu plans might affect your dental wellness? Here are five things you may regularly consume which could cause trouble for your teeth.

Foods to Avoid for Your Dental Health

  1. Treats: One of the most notorious oral health destroyers is sucrose. Better know as sugar, this substance feeds bacteria which produce acid. The more acid in your mouth, the more chance it will eat away at your protective tooth enamel. Most people know that sugar should be avoided to stave off cavities. However, it sometimes hides in groceries you think are healthy. Always read the labels on food you buy to find out how much sugar is inside the package.
  2. Tannins: If you want whiter teeth, put down the coffee, tea, and red wine. The reason these drinks dull your pearly whites is that they are laden with tannins. Tannins like to stick to any plaque film on your teeth, causing stains. If you have TMJ issues, tannins also exacerbate your discomfort.
  3. Fermentable Carbohydrates: You may notice that when you eat white bread, it has sweet and sticky undertones. The fermentation process which occurs when your saliva meets a highly processed carbohydrate turns the food into sugar as far as germs are concerned. White bread, cookies, crackers, and other starches should be eaten in moderation and followed up with oral hygiene.
  4. Acidic Foods: The pH level of a substance is simply the acidity level. The lower a food’s  pH level, the higher the acidity. Lemon juice is around 2.4 pH while milk is approximately 7.  Foods with high acidity levels  wear away tooth enamel making your teeth vulnerable to decay.
  5.  Polyunsaturated Oils: Carol Van Stoep, RDH, BSDH was quoted in an article published in Mouth Matters, Healthy Mouth, Healthy Body as saying, “The kinds of fats you consume influence how much overall inflammation you will suffer.” Fried foods (especially those found prominently at fast food restaurants) are almost always high in saturated fat, which causes gingival swelling.

Visit you Knoxville Dentist

A proponent of  dentistry in Knoxville, Dr. Jim Erpenbach can help you achieve total well-being through dental health. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Erpenbach, contact our Knoxville dentist office at 865-584-8630. We serve patients from the Bearden area and West Knoxville.

 

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