Eating healthy promotes strong teeth in children, and by encouraging a healthy diet, you can protect your child’s teeth from dissolving enamel and decay. In many ways, the types of foods you eat have a direct correlation to their long-term dental health. As an essential part of preventative dentistry, the quality of our foods translates to the quality of your oral health. However, sometimes it can be hard to gain the nutrients we all need when fast food options present a cheaper alternative or when low incomes result in less than nutritious foods. But it’s important to make an effort to eat healthier because while that chocolate bar may taste good, it doesn’t do good for you or your child’s teeth.
Choosing Healthy Foods For Healthy Smiles
Our bodies are amazing machines due to their ability to fight off infections and diseases and having poor nutrition only compromises that ability. Many studies cite the effectiveness of diets on oral health and argue that nutritional foods can help prevent many of the oral diseases we often try to avoid, including cavities and gum disease. In many ways, our mouths present an open the door to our overall wellness and can provide many clues about how our bodies are doing. In a more accurate sense, they’re a gateway to bacteria strains such as streptococcus mutans to enter our mouths, develop plaque, and infect our gums and teeth. Combine that with poor oral hygiene, and your teeth are in deep trouble!
One of the great things about diets is that they can be started at any point, and they’ll always provide benefits. When it comes to eating healthy, here are some of our tips:
- Focus On Core Food Groups: Lean proteins, leafy greens, crunchy vegetables, and fibrous fruits can help strengthen the tooth enamel, remove bacteria, promote saliva flow and deliver excellent sources of calcium, fiber, vitamin D to keep our mouths healthy.
- Avoid Sugary Drinks and Snacks: Any juices, gummy candies, desserts, and acidic drinks will often contain high amounts of sugar, giving the bacteria in our mouths to turn into plaque.
- Drink Water: Drinking water allows our mouths to flush out any harmful bacteria and food particles leftover in the mouth and helps stimulate saliva flow.
- Brush and Floss Your Teeth: Make sure to reinforce good oral habits to your kids, such as brushing and flossing each day to protect their teeth.
- Chew Sugarless Gum: Some brands of sugarless gum can provide benefits. If the gum contains xylitol, it can help decrease bacteria and neutralize mouth acids.
Changing Your Diet With A Family Dentist
We encourage a well-balanced diet for the whole family, and together with good brushing habits, your child’s teeth will be sparkling clean and strong in no time. For more information about how to aid your family’s diet and receive dental care, contact your local family dentist to arrange an appointment.
