Keeping teeth white and healthy goes beyond brushing and flossing multiple times a day. What you eat can be just as beneficial to your teeth and gums as traditional tooth care. Below we have assembled some foods that improve dental hygiene.
Improving Dental Hygiene with Every Meal
•Dairy Products: Calcium is an essential part of maintaining healthy teeth. The natural sugar in milk isn’t as damaging to teeth as the sugars found in candy and sweets. Cheeses are high in phosphates, which help build and preserve tooth enamel. Yogurt helps the mouth maintain its levels of healthy bacteria.
•Crunchy Fruits and Vegetables: Carrots, celery, apples and other crunchy fruits help clean plaque build-up from teeth and freshen breath. Munching on these can even stimulate the flow of saliva, helping to clean debris from teeth.
•Citrus: Vitamin C is crucial to oral health. When the body suffers from a vitamin C deficiency, gums can become tender, bleed and are much more prone to bacterial infection.
•Nuts: Nearly every variety of nut will help oral hygiene. Cashews help clean teeth, peanuts contain calcium and vitamin D. Also, almonds’ calcium levels help both teeth and gums.
•Leafy Greens: Spinach, kale and lettuce do more than make salads look pretty. The beta-carotene they contain keeps tooth enamel strong, their antioxidants fight oral bacterial build-up, and their folic acid helps maintain oral health.
•Salmon: It’s been known for many years that the fatty Omega-3 acids in this fish help fight heart disease, but most people don’t know the vitamin D it also contains keeps teeth and jawbones healthy.
•Green Tea: The highest quantities of catechin, a natural antioxidant, occur in green tea. This organic compound helps kill plaque and other bacterial build up in the mouth and inhibits bad breath. Don’t use this as an excuse to load up on a sweet drink. However, adding sugar will only work against its good qualities. Unsweetened tea is what will help your teeth stay strong.
•Water: Swishing some H2O will help remove residue and particles that have stuck to teeth without the harsh sting of alcohol found in mouthwash. If the water is fluoridated (fluoride is the primary active ingredient in toothpaste that prevents cavities from forming), it will strengthen the fight against tooth decay.