A nutritious diet keeps your body healthy and it keeps your mouth healthy too. The food you choose to eat affects the health of your teeth and gums. If you eat a lot of sugary foods and drink a lot of sugary beverages and you consume these kinds of foods frequently then you’re putting yourself at risk for tooth decay.

1. Gum Disease Prevention:
Your Teeth are What You Eat

2. A nutritious diet keeps your body
healthy and it keeps your mouth
healthy too.
The food you choose to eat affects the
health of your teeth and gums.
If you eat a lot of sugary foods and
drink a lot of sugary beverages and you
consume these kinds of foods
frequently then you’re putting yourself
at risk for tooth decay.

3. So, if you have a big sweet tooth, beware.
The frequent consumption of sugary foods encourages
the continuous demineralization, and it doesn’t give
your saliva a chance to wash out and neutralize acids
created when you eat these kinds of food.
Sticky or chewy food can also pose more of a risk
because it has a tendency to remain in the mouth
longer, which gives the food more time to produce
harmful acids.

4. The sugars and carbohydrates that make
up many of today’s typical diets can
ferment in the mouth to create acids that
attack the teeth, which leads to tooth
decay.
Tooth decay leads to problems like cavities,
gingivitis, and periodontal disease, which is
a major cause of tooth loss in adults.

5. However, it is not enough to just limit your
intake of sugary foods and drinks.
If you are not getting the right kinds of
nutrients, it is more difficult for your mouth to
resist infection which, in turn, can contribute
to gum disease.
The more nutrition your diet lacks, the faster
gum disease progresses.

6. What kinds of nutrition choices can you make that are
good for both your body and your mouth?
The American Dental Association recommends that you
drink plenty of water and eat a diet with a variety of
foods from each of the five food groups.
So, choose foods with whole grains, fruits, vegetables,
low fat and fat free dairy foods, and lean sources of
protein like lean beef, skinless chicken or turkey, fish, dry
beans, legumes, and peas.

7. The American Dental Association also recommends that you limit
the number of snacks you eat.
They explain that the mouth produces more saliva when you eat
a meal.
Saliva actually protects your mouth.
It washes out food in your mouth and helps to lessen the effects
of acids in your mouth that contribute to tooth decay and
cavities.
However, if you do need to snack, choose foods like cheese (low
fat of course), unsweetened yogurt, fruits, and vegetables.
Also, be sure to drink plenty of water.

8. Dairy foods are particularly good for oral health.
Milk contains calcium, phosphate, and casein, which is
a milk protein.
These ingredients can help protect your teeth and keep
them health.
Cheese has a fat which reduces the amount of
bacteria on your teeth.
In fact, eating a small piece of cheese after a meal can
help protect the enamel on your teeth.

9. Tea, in moderation, is also good for the teeth.
Tea contains a chemical called polyphenol which suppresses the
growth of bacteria on the teeth.
Tea also contains fluoride, which protects the teeth against
decay.
Fluoride reduces the rate at which the tooth enamel
demineralizes, and because of that it was added present in the
public water supplies of the United States in 1945.
In fact, the Center for Disease Control lists the fluoridation of our
nation’s water supplies as one of the greatest public health
achievements of the twentieth century.
That’s how important fluoride is to our oral health!

10. Here are some tips you can use to keep
your teeth healthy when you eat:
 Avoid drinking sugary or acidic beverages between meals. Remember that your mouth
produces less saliva when you snack, so it is not able to neutralize the acid from those kinds of
drinks.
 End a meal with milk or a small amount of cheese. It can help neutralize the acid produced by
foods.
 Space your snacks and meals at least one to two hours apart to allow remineralization of your
teeth to occur.
 Avoid brushing your teeth immediately after consuming acidic foods or drinks. If you brush your
teeth when they are in a demineralized state you can remove a layer or tooth enamel.
 Drinking through a straw reduces the amount of liquid that comes into contact with your teeth.
 Chewing sugar free gum after a meal or snack will cause your mouth to produce more saliva to
wash away foods and neutralize acid.
 Less saliva is produced at night, so avoid eating or drinking anything except for water after you
have brushed your teeth.

11. Contact Us
 Mark C. Marchbanks, D.D.S.
 2624 Matlock Road Suite 100, Arlington, TX 76015
 Phone: (817) 261-2747
 http://arlingtontexasdentist.net/