plays a large role in your dental health. Brushing and flossing help to keep your teeth and gums healthy and strong however a balanced diet will help to boost your bodies immune system, leaving you less vulnerable to oral disease.
How often and what you eat have been found to affect your dental health. Eating starchy foods such as crackers, bread, cookies and candy will causes the bacteria in your mouth to feed on them, they then produce acids, which attack your teeth for up to 20 minutes or more. Also foods that stick to your teeth or are slow to dissolve give the acids more time to work on destroying your tooth enamel.
Starchy Foods
- Crackers
- Breads
- Cookies
- Candies
Sticky/Slow to Dissolve Foods
- Granola Bars
- Chewy Fruit Snacks
- Dried Fruit
- Potato Chips
- Hard Candy
Sticky and starchy foods create less acid when eaten as part of a meal. Saliva production increases at mealtime, rinsing away food particles and neutralizing harmful acids.
Foods such as nuts, cheese, onions, and some teas have been shown to slow the growth of decay - causing bacteria in the mouth.
