Healthy Nutrition For Healthy Teeth

You know what you need to do to keep your oral health at its peak: brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes at a time and also floss at night. It’s also a good idea to use mouthwash. That can keep your teeth looking nice and shiny. That’s all you need to do, right? Wrong.

It’s important to also watch what you put in your mouth. There are foods and drinks that can have a seriously bad effect on your teeth if you have them too often. Then there are foods that are nutritious and healthy for your teeth.

If you live in New York City and want to see a dentist, check out lowenberglituchykantor.com. They can help you have a great smile. Here are some foods that you can eat to keep your teeth looking great and also ensure that they are strong.

Eat These Foods

There are a lot of foods to choose from. Here are a few of them, with some thoughts on what each of them brings to the table in terms of tooth health:

• Cheese, Milk, and Yogurt – All of those fall under dairy. Cheese has a lot of calcium and casein, both of which can make strong teeth. Cheese also has phosphate, which helps regulate pH levels. You need saliva in your mouth to help keep it clean and cheese can help you generate a lot of that. Milk and yogurt also have calcium and they lower acid levels in your mouth.
• Crunchy Veggies like Celery and Carrots – When you bite into these veggies, they can help clean the surface of your teeth. Like cheese, they can also make you generate a lot of saliva. Also, you will get a lot of minerals from the veggies. Celery is great at cleaning your teeth. You will get a lot of vitamins, too, like Vitamin C. Carrots have calcium and keratin. They can wash away a lot of stains, too.
• Leafy Greens like Kale, Lettuce, and Spinach – While they may look bland, they are loaded with a lot of great things like calcium, folic acid and other vitamins and minerals. If you put them in your sandwiches, they can be a lot of help in cleaning your teeth in between brushings.
• Apples and Pears – Yes, the saying is “An Apple a Day Will Keep The Doctor Away.” A dentist is a doctor of teeth – and eating apples can help keep you from making visits outside of your regular cleanings. Eating fresh apples is good since they will massage your gums as you chew. Pears also reduce acid in your mouth, which can keep your teeth from getting decayed.
• Nuts – Eating things like brazil nuts and cashews can provide phosphorus and calcium, which are good for teeth. Peanuts also have calcium and Vitamin D. Walnuts have a treasure trove of vitamins and minerals.

Drink Water

The best thing to do is drink water. This can keep your mouth in a constant state of moistness, which is good, since bacteria prefer to grow in a dry mouth. Drinking water also washes the sugar and other bacteria away. Water has no calories, so it can also help you stay at a healthy weight.

Avoid Sugary Foods and Drinks, Too

It’s a long, hot day and there’s nothing like drinking an ice-cold soda. You are possibly damaging your teeth, though. When you drink a soda that has a lot of sugar in it, that sugar is going to stay on your teeth and attack your enamel thanks to a chemical reaction. It doesn’t go away fast, either. You could look at it doing this for 20 minutes at a time … each sip.

The same goes for sugary foods. You don’t want to have the enamel of your teeth under constant attack. If you must have these foods or drinks, try to have them in moderation. You can also quickly rinse out your mouth with a few swigs of water to help wash out the sugar and get your teeth to a cleaner state.

There are a lot of temptations out there that can make it hard to keep your teeth looking great. You can do something else, though. Make sure that you go to the dentist twice a year for regular check-ups. That way, if there is something happening to your teeth, they can usually catch it at a very early stage. Then they can have you get back on track with your oral health routine. Then you will have every reason to smile.