How to keep your teeth healthy during the holidays?

Consultation with a doctor When it comes to the oral cavity, the expression “you are what you eat” becomes truly meaningful. Sweet foods such as sugar, candy, and carbonated drinks lead to the destruction of tooth enamel. Other foods, such as dairy products or vegetables, on the other hand, help fight plaque buildup and act like a natural toothbrush, delaying dental treatment for longer.

So, what foods promote dental health?

The influence of nutrition on dental health

To maintain oral health, a number of microelements are required - calcium, fluoride and phosphorus. A person gets them from food. If the diet contains few healthy and micronutrient-rich foods, the enamel weakens and is more difficult to restore.

Dental plaque is a thin, invisible film on the teeth that maintains the health and microflora of the mouth. When a person eats sugary or starchy foods, it reacts with plaque to form acids. These acids attack the enamel, destroying it.

Consuming sugar in small quantities will not lead to tooth decay or inflammatory diseases. But if harmful foods are constantly in the diet, then undesirable consequences will certainly arise, and treatment of caries cannot be avoided.

Excess sugar and lack of calcium and phosphorus leads to caries and inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity.

Harm

TOP 10 foods that are bad for your teeth:

Simple carbohydrates (white bread, pastry, chips, etc.) - contain starch, which breaks down in the mouth into simple sugars (under the influence of saliva).
Popcorn often contains unpopped kernels and can cause mechanical damage.
Sweet carbonated drinks. It is worth noting that the danger to the dental system lies not in sugar, but in the acids that such drinks contain in large quantities. If you cannot imagine your life without sweet soda, then neutralize its negative effects by rinsing your mouth with water.
Freshly squeezed juices can also have negative effects due to sugar and fruit acids, but, unlike carbonated drinks, they are very healthy, so you shouldn’t give them up. To neutralize possible damage to your teeth, you need to rinse your mouth with water after drinking the juice. Brushing your teeth no earlier than 30 minutes later.
Energy drinks and sports drinks. One can contains about 13 tablespoons of sugar and even more acids than soda!
Dried fruits. Have you always believed that these products have a positive effect on your health? But they can harm your teeth because they contain huge amounts of sugar and insoluble cellulose fiber, which sticks to the enamel and serves as a food source for bacteria.
Lollipops contain sugar and citric acid, and chewing candy can break a tooth.
Alcohol. Cocktails, wine, cognac and vodka contain alcohol, which causes dehydration and dry mouth, so germs begin to multiply faster, harming teeth and gums. Sweet liqueurs and wine contain sugar.
Coffee and tea leave dark stains on the enamel that are difficult to remove during home hygiene procedures. Caffeine also causes dehydration, so if you like coffee, drink it with water.
Cold and hot - a sudden change in temperature leads to cracks in the enamel, which leads to further tooth destruction.

Products that are harmful

What is good for your teeth is good for your entire body. Poor nutrition causes physical and psychological problems. Oral diseases lead to a decrease in overall immunity. And with pain or active inflammation, it will be difficult to eat and communicate.

So, harmful foods for teeth are:

Sweets. This includes chocolate, cakes, cookies, candies. The sugar contained in these products settles on the enamel and subsequently destroys it. Also, crowns and fillings placed on teeth wear out faster. The worst are those sweets that are difficult to clean out of the mouth, like candy or caramel. Small pieces of caramel get stuck between teeth. This is significantly worse than, for example, chocolate, which easily washes out when brushing or rinsing.
Soft drinks. Store-bought soda and iced tea contain equal amounts of harmful sugars, which erode tooth enamel and lead to tooth decay. It is better to give up such drinks and switch to water or unsweetened loose leaf tea. If it is difficult to give up carbonated sweet drinks, then after each use you should rinse your mouth with warm water.
Hard and starchy foods. These are crackers, chips, popcorn, nuts and dried fruits. They not only get stuck between the teeth, but also scratch the enamel and gums. Scratches turn into small cracks. Food will get stuck there, which will lead to inflammatory processes.
Sour. Citrus fruits and juices from them, lemon and berries - all this harms teeth. High acid content is harmful to oral health. It is worth limiting the consumption of foods with high acidity. It is advisable to drink juices through a straw - contact with the enamel will be significantly reduced, along with the risk of undesirable consequences.
Coloring products. Black currants and chokeberries strongly stain tooth enamel. But these berries also contain vitamins that are good for teeth. So you can eat them, but you shouldn’t overuse them. The second product is coffee. It is not only capable of staining the enamel dark, but also leaching calcium from the enamel. Therefore, it is better to reduce coffee to 1 cup per day or, if possible, completely abandon it. Professional teeth whitening will give longer lasting results if you follow a “white” diet.

How sugar harms teeth

First, let's figure out what the harm of sugar is and why its effect on teeth leads to the development of caries.

When sugar enters the body, its task, like the task of any other food, is to be absorbed and digested. To carry out the process, auxiliary substances are needed - B vitamins and calcium. The source for consumption is tooth enamel. Over time, its surface becomes thinner and thinner, and the teeth deteriorate from the inside. As a result, becoming fragile and brittle, they lose their protective properties and are attacked by microbes and bacteria.

Everything is good in moderation, our ancestors said, and delicacies are no exception.

A balanced diet with a minimum amount of sugar in foods is what you need for enamel health. Protein foods restore it, and excessive consumption of sweets shortens the life of teeth.

It is not the glucose itself contained in sugar that has a destructive effect. We are talking about microorganisms - “sweet tooth”, inhabiting the oral cavity and gastrointestinal tract. A sweet environment is favorable for the reproduction of representatives of pathogenic microflora that feed on glucose residues.

Growing populations of bacteria are dangerous because:

destroy the enamel surface;
trigger the processes of decomposition and decay in the areas between the teeth;
cause inflammation in microtraumas of the mucous membrane;
interfere with restoration processes in tooth enamel;
fall into periodontal pockets, causing infections.

Staphylococci, streptococci, peptococci and other representatives of this type of bacteria are responsible for the development of caries, inflammation, loss of stability and tooth loss.

Dangerous sweets

Taffy, chewy candy, soft caramel. During consumption, these products become clogged in the interdental spaces and stick to the surface. Some particles may not even be noticed. They “dissolve” in the mouth, eaten by bacteria.

Caramel. Contains the highest amount of sugar. It tends to stick to teeth. In hard-to-reach places, getting it out, even with a toothbrush, is sometimes problematic. Well, if you don’t brush your teeth after eating caramel, you should know that the process of enamel destruction has begun.

Lollipops. Such sweets are clogged into hard-to-reach places in the mouth. This delicacy is also dangerous due to its hardness. In contact with the surface of the teeth, such sweets leave microcracks on the enamel, creating a favorable environment for the proliferation of pathogenic microorganisms.

Products good for teeth

Dairy products. Milk, yogurt, cheeses and cottage cheese are the main products that strengthen teeth. They are rich in microelements necessary for enamel - phosphorus, calcium and fluorine. As well as the protein casein, which is involved in the formation of protective plaque. Dairy products also contain vitamin D, which helps calcium be absorbed properly. The main thing is to choose dairy products without sugar or sweet additives.
Greenery. Leafy greens are always at the top of the list for healthy foods. It is full of vitamins and microelements that are so necessary for the body and, in particular, teeth. Calcium, folic acid, B vitamins strengthen enamel and reduce inflammatory processes, which can prevent rapid gum treatment.
Hard vegetables and fruits. Apples, pears, carrots, celery and cucumbers contain a full range of vitamins and minerals. This helps to form the correct microflora in the oral cavity and strengthen teeth. The fibrous, hard structure of fruits and vegetables works like a toothbrush - a natural massage of the gums and a complete cleansing of the oral cavity.
Water and weak teas. Water helps get rid of food particles between the teeth and rinses the mouth. This not only prevents inflammation, but also eliminates bad breath. Tea - green, white or weak black - also has a positive effect on the condition of the enamel. Green tea contains fluoride, which is essential for teeth.
Seafood. It is known that fish and other seafood are the main source of omega-3, phosphorus, calcium and fluoride. All these microelements are necessary, so eating fish will definitely improve the condition of the oral cavity.

Each product affects not only the general condition, but also the health of the oral cavity. It is important to maintain a healthy balance in your diet, focusing on healthy foods and reducing harmful ones to a minimum.

After eating unhealthy food, you should rinse your mouth with water to minimize the negative effects.

The main thing is not to forget to brush your teeth twice a day and use special floss.
Professional oral cleaning will help you maintain a beautiful and healthy smile. The doctor's consultation

Preventive measures to protect teeth during the holidays

To avoid painful dental diseases and injuries, experts recommend following the following rules:

brush your teeth regularly (preferably morning and evening);
consume moderate amounts of sweets;
After eating meat and fish dishes, be sure to use a toothpick;
use mouth rinses with an antibacterial effect;
Never open bottles of champagne with your teeth;
in advance (before the holidays) undergo a preventive examination at the dentist and cure existing diseases.

Helpful advice! Dentists recommend undergoing professional teeth cleaning and remineralization (saturation of enamel with useful minerals) a few days before the holidays. And if acute situations arise (deep caries, gumboil, etc.), it is advised to immediately consult a doctor. Experienced specialists at the Avesta family clinic will help you solve the problem quickly and painlessly. Opening hours: daily from 10.00 to 20.00 (7 days a week).

Protecting your teeth during the holidays is a necessary condition for maintaining good health for many years (after all, diseased teeth have a negative impact on digestion and the functioning of the entire body as a whole). Therefore, follow simple preventive rules, eat less sweets and do not delay visiting the dentist. Then there will definitely be one less problem. The Avesta Clinic wishes you and your loved ones health. And let the upcoming holidays not affect the health of your teeth in any way (except in a positive way).