What you eat and drink is highly important for maintaining healthy teeth and gums. Eating the wrong foods can lead to tooth decay and gum disease, whereas eating the right foods will reduce the risk of cavities, prevent decay, and strengthen and restore your teeth for a healthy smile. From dairy to leafy greens, this article highlights 8 of the best foods and drinks for healthy teeth and gums.
1. Fibre-Rich Leafy Greens such as Spinach & Kale
Fibre-rich leafy greens such as spinach and kale are fantastic for keeping your teeth and gums clean as well as benefitting your overall health. These foods require lots of chewing to break down which stimulates saliva production. Saliva helps defend against cavities, cleans the teeth, and neutralises cavity-causing acids. Spinach and kale are also high in calcium which helps strengthen and rebuild tooth enamel.
2. Dairy such as Cheese, Milk, Yoghurt
Dairy foods such as cheese, milk, and plain yoghurt are high in calcium and phosphates which strengthen teeth and bones, rebuild enamel, and help restore minerals in damaged and eroded teeth lost due to plaque and cavities. Cheese, milk, and yoghurt also contain casein, which is a protein that can stabilise and repair enamel. What’s more, they also neutralise plaque acids and cavity-causing bacteria to balance the pH level in the mouth and prevent cavities. Cheese also encourages saliva production to help cleanse the mouth.
3. Crunchy Food like Carrots, Celery, and Apples
Crunchy and chewy foods like raw carrots, celery, and apples are natural toothbrushes. When eating these foods, the chewing action acts as a cleansing mechanism that disrupts plaque and scrapes food particles and bacteria away from the teeth. The texture also massages the teeth and gums and the crunching action increases saliva production to help clear away bacteria and reduce the risk of cavities.
In addition to acting as a natural toothbrush, these foods also pack in a range of different vitamins and minerals. Carrots contain fibre, plaque-attacking keratin, and enamel-strengthening Vitamin A. Celery is a great source of Vitamins A and C, two antioxidants that give your gums a boost. Apples contain natural sugar that neutralises harmful acids in the mouth, plus a variety of vitamins to keep gums healthy.
4. Green and Black Tea
Green and black tea contain polyphenols that interact with plaque bacteria and kill or hold back the bacteria to slow its growth and prevent it from producing acid that attacks the teeth.
Water in the tea drink is also an excellent source of fluoride, a mineral in water that prevents decay and strengthens enamel.
5. Wild Salmon
Wild salmon is high in omega 3s, calcium, and, most importantly, Vitamin D, which helps the body absorb calcium so that the mineral can get to work strengthening your teeth.
6. Sugarless Gum
Sugarless gum stimulates the production of saliva to wash away acids and contains calcium and phosphate to help strengthen teeth.
7. Water
Water will wash away sugars, food debris, and acid off the teeth and contains fluoride, a mineral that helps protect the teeth against erosion. It will also help neutralise harmful acid that can erode the teeth.
8. Strawberries
Strawberries contain malic acid, which is a natural enamel whitener to whiten your pearly whites.
Learn More
To learn more about the best foods to eat for healthy teeth and gums, or for more advice on the best ways to keep your teeth and gums healthy and maintain optimal dental health, get in touch or book an appointment with Bright and White Dental Spa today.
