This is the first in a two-part article on the impact of meals on our teeth. Part One will go over foods that are thought to be bad for your teeth, and Part Two will go over foods that can really help you rebuild them.
In general, the former receives more attention than the latter. This has some significance in terms of prevention. Having a strong awareness of which foods are favourable to dental health, on the other hand, is crucial in my opinion. In fact, this understanding may hold the secret to not only enhancing an individual’s oral health, but also their overall health.
While there are usually multiple components to any programme that leads to improved dental health, in my opinion, food is the most important.
Dentists typically spend the majority of their time stressing the significance of hygiene. I, too, have written about this subject in a number of articles. Nonetheless, I’ve grown to understand the value of spending a lot more time with patients examining and adjusting their diets over time. To be honest, this is more difficult – and is met with more opposition. However, it is critical.
However, I do not believe it is necessary to the exclusion of hygiene. However, I have come across several viewpoints that only advocate for diet. So, just to put things in perspective, let’s take another look at this topic in general.
Hygiene entails taking care of one’s complete body. Naturally, the mouth is included. While proper personal hygiene is something that everyone should practise for themselves, it is also necessary to insist that others do so as well. Consider the following scenario:
Assume you’ve started eating fresh organic foods and are on your way to your neighbourhood butcher to get some fresh meat. When you arrive, you are met by someone who smells like he hasn’t bathed in a week. His hair is oily. His hands are filthy, and after coughing unceremoniously into them, he wipes one hand on a filthy shirt. Then he grabs your new cut of steak and holds it up for inspection.
You have the freedom to refuse it. Not because there’s anything wrong with hormone-free, grass-fed meat. Rather, it would be because the person clearly practises bad hygiene and may infect you – as well as anybody else with whom they come into touch. You wouldn’t be wrong to make a comment about that.
Similarly, effective oral hygiene is merely a mirror of overall body maintenance. This includes getting enough rest and exercising on a regular basis.
Having stated that, let’s take a quick look at what foods trigger dental problems in people.
These can be broken down into three broad categories. However, as you shall see, they include a diverse range of widely consumed items.
- Sweeteners and sugar The first topic I’ll address is one that almost everyone concentrates on and may fall under the category of “common knowledge.” Despite this, you may be shocked at the amount of sugars and sweeteners that are commonly taken in a typical diet. When the amount of sugar in the blood increases, the calcium-phosphorus equilibrium in the blood is disrupted. This causes calcium to be drawn out of our teeth and bones. Low phosphorus levels also have an effect on the mineral content of dentin, the layer of tooth structure that supports tooth enamel.
- Foods with Low Fat. This includes products like skimmed or low-fat milk, which many people believe benefits their teeth if consumed in adequate quantities. Unfortunately, this is a common mistake that gets people into difficulty. Milk that has been homogenised and pasteurised has lost its nutritional value. The probiotic (good bacteria) quality of raw natural milk is destroyed by pasteurisation. Pathogenic (bad) bacteria may be able to proliferate more easily in pasteurised milk as a result of this. Furthermore, a lack of good fat might impair hormone function, which can have a negative impact on mineral levels.
- White (bleached) flour White flour-containing products can also be harmful to teeth, especially when mixed with sugars and in the absence of good animal fats. When one considers how many meals are created with white flour, it might cause a significant nutritional difficulty. Furthermore, if these items are not eliminated after meals, they will form a thin sticky layer of what is essentially a type of sugar. Because this, in turn, can adhere to the teeth for hours and become acidic, it can hasten the demineralization process, which breaks down the outer coating of your teeth and results in dental decay. In addition, to make the flour seem dazzling white, the bleaching procedure often includes the addition of chlorine dioxide or benzoyl peroxide. These should not be included in your diet.
In the following article, we will discuss which foods are beneficial for your teeth. The good news is that you can do something to remineralize or rebuild your teeth; however, understanding how foods enter the picture and which ones are harmful to your teeth and gums is a vital component for taking control of your dental health.