The nutrition levels in your diet has a large impact on the state of your dental health. By eating healthily, you not only benefit your body; you also reduce your chances of cavities, gum disease and acid erosion, as well as other dental problems.
It’s imperative to maintain a diet with positive nutrition and to have regular teeth examinations. This will help you to stay healthy, active and avoiding those dreaded emergency dentist appointments!
Knowing The Connection Between Nutrition And Healthy Teeth
Good nutrition is achieved as healthy food and drinks provide the body with the right vitamins and minerals needed for normal growth and development, as well as reducing the chances of certain illnesses.
If you’re lacking in nutrition, your dental health is likely to suffer and you may struggle to fight off infections. This could potentially lead to periodontal disease — a disease which leads to tooth loss. There’s often a correlation between low vitamin or mineral levels and periodontal disease.
Conversely, the way you look after your teeth also has an effect on your body. For example, gum disease can contribute to more far-reaching problems, including diabetes and heart disease. Maintaining the strong condition of your teeth and gums is essential, as letting this slip can often lead to other illnesses.
Good Foods
Good nutrition can be found in foods such as beef, olive oil, fresh fruits and vegetables. Our ancestors ate many of these foods as hunter-gatherers; they massively aid the nutrition in our bodies and are great for our teeth. Let’s take a look at some of them in more detail.
- Beef, fish and poultry contain phosphorus, which is great for making teeth stronger, protecting and restoring tooth enamel. These meats also contain high levels of protein, which is great for tooth structure and needed by our body for tissue repair and many other purposes.
- Olive oil, in moderation, can help prevent plaque build-up, as well as strengthening teeth. Olive oil is seen as a healthy fat, as it can reduce levels of cholesterol and help control blood sugar levels — extremely useful for those with type two diabetes.
- Fresh fruits and vegetables contain high water levels and provide a balance of natural sugars, helping teeth remain clean. They also contain vitamin C, which is important for keeping the gumline in good condition. Fruit and vegetables contain a range of other vitamins that the body needs, as well as a great amount of fibre.
Bad Foods
Foods with little nutritional value can be detrimental to your general and dental health. These foods include alcohol and refined sugar products, while too much starch in your diet may also cause problems.
When drinking alcohol, the mouth becomes dry, slowing down saliva production which is needed to clean bacteria and plaque. Drinking caffeine-filled drinks also has the same effect. Both alcoholic and caffeinated drinks can cause teeth staining, while long term effects in severe cases include liver damage, increased blood pressure and insomnia.
Due to their popularity, refined sugar products are a leading cause of cavities and tooth decay. Sugary foods like chocolate or sweets enables bacteria to produce acids, which then target and damage the enamel.
Without proper cleaning and regular dental check-ups, cavities may become more serious, resulting in debilitating pain and an emergency visit to the dentist. Refined sugars can lead to poor health in general, as they affect the body’s PH levels and can contribute to diabetes.
The Evolution of Nutrition
Since around the time of the Industrial Revolution, a lot of foods have been through a refining process. Refined foods such as white bread, white rice and white flour can lead to softer teeth and an increase in cavities. The refining process causes a loss of nutrients and can result in an inconsistency with blood sugar levels.
Foods containing starch, including bread and crisps, can cause problems for your teeth when consumed excessively. Starch is broken down into sugar and can become trapped between teeth, aiding the formation of plaque. Starch-heavy foods can also affect health by causing sugar levels in the blood to fluctuate and weight gain in the long term.
A recent study suggests that the introduction of sugar and carbohydrates into the everyday diet affected the bacteria that lives in the mouth, resulting in an increase of dental issues as our diets changed through generations. As the dietary options available to us expand, understanding how to keep up nutrition and avoid negative factors on our health is more important than ever.
Some things, though, never change. General health and dental health will always go hand in hand. By following a strong, consistent cleaning routine, having regular dental check-ups and maintaining a balanced diet, you can avoid emergency dentist appointments and continue to enjoy a healthy lifestyle.
Dr Chig Amin is a principal dentist in Surrey at the Epsom Dental Centre. Dr Amin leads a professional practice and provides all patients with high standard and excellent dental care.
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