When you think about your dietary choices, you are typically thinking of how those choices affect the numbers on the scale and how well your clothes fit. However, there is another area that should be of concern to you when you are deciding what to eat: the health of your teeth. Perhaps no other area is so overlooked when it comes to your diet than your oral health. However, the health of your teeth has a direct correlation with the foods and beverages that you choose to consume.
Inside your mouth, on any given day, are millions of bacteria that thrive in the moist and warm environment. If that makes you want to grab a toothbrush, then good! These bacteria are present in order to help break down small particles that are left behind after you eat and drink anything other than water. Tiny particles are left behind on the rough surfaces of the teeth, at the gum line, and in the tight spaces between the teeth after every meal, every snack, every beverage, and every piece of candy.
The bacteria inside your mouth want to help out by breaking down these particles for you between the times when you brush and floss your teeth. This sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, there is a catch. As these bacteria go to work, they begin producing acids in order to help them make their job easier. It is these acids that eventually eat their way through the tooth enamel causing a cavity, or eating away at the gum tissues causing periodontal disease.
The most important thing that you need to know about these acid-producing bacteria is that they are the most attracted to the sugars in the foods and beverages that you consume. Therefore, after eating desserts, fruits, candy, or drinking a soft drink, these bacteria will congregate in large quantities around the sugary particles and will produce an inordinate amount of acid. This large quantity of acid is what quickly causes tooth decay and gum disease to infiltrate the mouth and compromise your entire oral health.
By maintaining a healthy diet of lean meat, low-fat dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables (in their natural states, not cooked in dessert!), dry beans, legumes, and whole grains – you are helping to maintain an optimal level of health inside your mouth. Contact Muccioli Dental today for suggestions of healthy foods and beverages that will promote oral health.
Posted on behalf of Dr. Randy Muccioli, Muccioli Dental
Muccioli Dental - Johns Creek Dentist
6300 Hospital Pkwy, Suite 275
Johns Creek, Georgia 30097
Phone: (678) 389-9955