Are you currently on a diet and taking a healthy eating approach? Some foods that are amazing for the health of your body could actually be highly detrimental to your oral health. Eating some of these foods in moderation, or knowing what healthy foods to avoid, could benefit your oral health.
Citrus Fruits
When you’re enjoying that morning lemon tea to flush away impurities in the body, you may unknowingly be wearing away the enamel on your teeth. Other citric fruits in the morning, like drinking orange juice or eating grapefruits are also highly destructive to the enamel coating and can increase your chances of getting cavities. Another factor that comes into play, is that by having these fruits in the morning, allowing the acidic bad bacteria to settle in your mouth for the rest of the day, until you next clean your teeth. This will eventually start to rot the teeth and will lead to tooth decay. Be sure to drink a glass of water to clean away the acid from your mouth after consuming citric foods and drinks. Drinking through a straw also prevents your teeth from coming into contact with the corrosive acid.
Dried Fruit
Dried fruit such as raisins are a primary cause of tooth decay. Many think that they are a good option because they are packed with vitamins, when in actual fact the high sugar content is rotting away the teeth. The stickiness of fruits like raisins gets stuck in teeth, therefore prolonging the amount of time the sugar is on the teeth and causes more tooth decay damage.
Ice
The addition of ice in water makes the drink so much more satisfying and pleasing to drink. You would be surprised at how many people think that ice is good for their teeth. Because it is made from water and doesn’t contain any additives or sugar. But many people have a habit for chewing on the hard substance, which can leave your teeth susceptible to a dental emergency as it damages the enamel. Try and resist biting on ice and enjoy your drink in its natural form.
Sports Drinks
They may sound healthy as they promote many additional vitamins and minerals for your health benefit. But the top ingredient in many sports drinks is sugar, which is the main cause of tooth decay. They may be helpful for prolonged, vigorous physical activities, but are also unnecessary in most cases and the healthiest option is actually water. There have been several athletes who have suffered severe complications as a result of the excessive consumption of isotonic drinks, so be sure to keep these to a minimum if possible.
As you can see, these seemingly healthy options are actually very harmful to the health of your mouth. Be sure to find the right balance in your diet to prevent any issues with your oral hygiene.