Brushing, flossing, and seeing your dentist regularly are all things you can do to have a healthy smile. But your diet can also be beneficial. East Hill Dental Associates’ Dr. Richard Sousa, an experienced dentist near Glen Head, NY, lists five foods that can help your oral health by being in your regular diet.
1. Fresh, Crunchy Fruits and Vegetables
Fruits and veggies that are fibrous and crunchy are great because they require a lot of chewing. This means that they help clean teeth surfaces. They also stimulate the production of saliva, which helps wash away food particles and bacteria. Fruits and vegetables contain a lot of important vitamins and minerals that can help your oral health.
In addition, switching to hard fruits like apples and pears can help neutralize damaging acids in your mouth. Citrus fruits produce citric acid, which can wear down the enamel on your teeth. Apples and pears can help neutralize these acids, reducing the risk of tooth decay.
2. Sugarless Gum
You may have heard before to avoid gum for your teeth. While this is true if you have certain orthodontic or dental devices, it isn’t always true for your natural teeth. The key is getting gum that doesn’t contain sugar, which the bacteria that cause tooth decay feed off of.
The texture of sugarless gum can help it disrupt food particles that get stuck between your teeth and in other places that are hard to reach. It also stimulates saliva production, helping to wash away those particles and any bacteria hanging around after your meal.
3. Leafy Greens
Like other fresh fruits and vegetables, leafy greens are fibrous, helping to clean your teeth as you eat them. They’re also rich in things like calcium and Vitamin A, both of which help build your tooth enamel and are great for tooth and gum health in general.
4. Cheese
You’ve probably heard that dairy products are good for your teeth. Cheese may just be the best one. It contains the calcium benefits that you’re aware of, but it’s also something that’s low in sugar. Cheese also contains a protein that’s called casein, which is especially great for your tooth enamel.
Like other foods, chewing it helps boost your saliva content, flushing out harmful bacteria and food particles. And it’s high in phosphates, which help balance the pH in your mouth, another thing that helps to preserve tooth enamel.
5. Water
Like so many other parts of the body, water is one of the best things you can ingest for oral health. It’s neutral, so it doesn’t have harmful effects on your tooth enamel or anything when you drink it. It’s good to flush away both bacteria and food particles in your mouth, while also keeping it nice and hydrated.
If you’re drinking tap water in America, there’s also a solid chance that your water contains fluoride as well. Fluoride is used to build and strengthen your tooth enamel, giving water extra benefits.
Keep Up Your Oral Health with Your Glen Head, New York Dentist
At East Hills Dental Associates, we can help make sure your oral health is on track. Dr. Sousa can recommend diet tips and other tricks to keep your smile shining. Call us today or schedule an appointment online!