Do you want to have healthy and beautiful teeth? There is no doubt that daily brushing is the simplest way to keep your teeth healthy. Unfortunately, this is not enough. There are other factors that affect dental health, such as dietary habits. Experts recommend paying more attention to three dietary principles that must be followed if you want to enjoy healthy teeth for long.
1. Drink water
The main cause of tooth decay is a decrease of minerals in tooth enamel. This process often happens because of sweet drinks, such as fruit juice, lemonade and so on. Sweet beverages not only contain various sweeteners but also they have acids that deplete tooth surfaces. In addition, simple carbohydrates, such as sugar, is a great medium for bacteria to grow. Therefore, it is important to educate children from an early age to drink water instead of sweet drinks.
Also bear in mind that although juice is not good for dental health, hard fruits and vegetables are another story. Although they contain natural sugars, they also contain large amounts of water which dilutes the effect of sugar.
2. Stop snacking constantly
Sugar is in almost all dishes. So every time you eat, we provide all living microorganisms in the mouth with energy. Acids that are produced during this process gradually do an irreparable damage to the teeth. To avoid this, you should eat no more than 4 times per day and make breaks of 3-4 hours between meals.
Regular snacking also weakens tooth enamel. This process is quite slow and often people notice a damage too late.
The worst snacks are biscuits, jelly babies, dried fruits or potato chips. They stick to the tooth surface and do their job for a long time, even after you eat. Therefore, it is necessary to allow your teeth to rest between snacks and make longer breaks.
However, there are snacks that can help prevent tooth decay because they neutralize acids produced by bacteria. A great example is cheese or nuts. They provide teeth with calcium and phosphorus.
3. Avoid cold or hot food
Contrasting temperature of food is an old enemy of teeth. Very hot or very cold food causes inflammations of tooth pulp. It can also cause pain or tooth sensitivity.