Wednesday 1 August 2012

Can Diet affect our Oral Health?

According to Therapist Winnipeg, people should take healthy diet. It has been observed that unhealthy food affects once oral health adversely. How can we determine that which type of food is good for our teeth, and which is not? Let’s see which food items are not healthy for our oral health:

What type of diet is bad for our teeth?

People love drinking soft drinks, unknowingly that that they are being cruel to their teeth. Yes, it is true. According to World Health Organization (WHO) soft drinks can damage our teeth. After our milk teeth are gone in our childhood, we are only left with our permanent teeth. So why not take care of them in time, than to undergo expensive treatments, surgeries and implants.



  • Who said Dry fruits are healthy for teeth?



  • Besides soft drinks, dry fruits, including raisins often cause damages to our teeth. However, there are some fellows who hold the opinion that dry fruits are good for health. Well, they can be right when it comes to walnut but not other dry fruits! Dates, raisins and figs are not only rich in sugar but are sticky. They often stuck between one’s teeth for hours and cause decay. It is recommended to use floss or rinse one mouth immediately after eating these dry fruits. Brushing does not remove raisins and dates if they are stuck between the teeth.


  • Avoid Sugar as much possible:


  • Sugar in any form; honey, brown sugar, refined sugar, etc is not good for our oral health. Sugar helps in the metabolism of bacteria in our oral cavity which later turns sugar into acids that consequently dissolves the structure of teeth. It is not the amount of sugar you take that can be harmful to teeth, but how often you in take food with sugar as main ingredient. Enjoying your favorite dessert, once in a blue moon is definitely alright, but eating sugary diet after every two or three hours, will dissolve the enamel and have other bad affects on your oral health. If you are very much fond of food containing sugar, then try not to eat them at snack time but with your meals. ‘What will that do?’ you must be having these thoughts in your mind, right? Well. The reason for this is that a lot of saliva is produced at meals, which convert the sugar into a mineral substance and thus the enamel stays protected. It is recommended to brush one’s teeth properly twenty minutes after every meal, so enamel is not dissolved by the acid and also to prevent the formation of bacteria. This helps teeth stay healthy, to last as long as one lives.


  • Is Alcohol good for teeth?


  • We should avoid intake of alcohol as it dries the mouth and reduces saliva production.

    Which food is good for our oral health?

    Dentists in Winnipeg recommends that one should adopt a healthy life style. Eating healthy food, like nuts, fresh fruits, raw vegetables and yogurt, is not only beneficial for one overall health but it also helps in maintaining good teeth and gums.

    Eat Cranberries:
     
    Add cranberries to your diet. They have certain property which helps cure cavities and periodontal diseases.

    Use Sugar-less Chewing Gums:

    Using sugarless chewing gums or flavored ones with sugar substitute is good for our gums and teeth. Chewing produces saliva which is good for teeth. That’s the reason why our elders tell us to chew our food properly. Why is Saliva so beneficial for teeth? You must be wondering, right? Well, Saliva flushes acids from our mouth and helps prevent dissolving of teeth and decay. It has antimicrobial and antifungal compounds that prevent us from oral infections. Not just this, Saliva also contains Calcium and Phosphate ions which makes the enamel strong.

    Green Tea:

    Drinking green tea is also good for our oral health as it helps fight bacteria, controls oral cancer, and prevents inflammation, cavities and other gum diseases. It also makes our breath fresh and smell good, as it kills the microbes that make our breath malodorous.

    Don’t just Say Cheese, eat Cheese!

    Did you ever wonder why people say ‘Cheese’ while their photograph is being taken? Cheese is good for our smile, because eating cheese is beneficial to our teeth. Cheese is high in pH which neutralizes acids and prevents teeth from decaying. So nest time when your photograph is being taken do not just say cheese, also eat cheese to make your smile look beautiful!