Which Are The Worst Foods For Teeth
Not every food consumed is good for your health or your teeth, therefore, you really need to know which are the worst foods for your teeth you need to avoid, and keep your oral health at check.
Yes, what you eat MATTERS!
Citrus Intake
As you may already know, frequent exposures to acidic foods can erode tooth enamel, making your teeth prune to decay over time.
Lemon and orange juice may have so many health benefits, but they’re not always the best choice for your mouth. Citric fruits and juices can also irritate mouth sores, which is one week nightmare to deal with.
Even though you can’t detach from this habit of yours, at least make sure to drink plenty of plain water afterwards and flush your mouth.
Pickles
A tooth’s worst nightmare is combination of veggies and vinegar. Pickles are tasty to have them on a sandwich, but the combination of acidic vinegar and sugar, is a recipe for enamel erosion.
What are dental erosion and dental enamel?
Dental erosion is the breakdown of tooth structure caused by the effect of acid on the teeth.
Dental enamel is the thin, outer layer of hard tissue that helps maintain the tooth’s structure and shape while protecting it from decay.
And you know what?
This is something you don’t want to mess with. Dentist offices charge a lot, therefore, try to protect your teeth as much as possible if you don’t want to end up with thin wallet.
Red Wine
Every now and then a glass of red wine won’t hurt, and even studies have shown that every once in a while it can be good for the heart and cholesterol levels.
Unfortunately, the expression “wine teeth” says it all.
Why it falls in category worst foods for teeth?
Well, because this flavorful purplish beverage can stain teeth quite easily, and the acidity can wear down the surface of teeth and leave stains.
Having red teeth isn’t such fun!
Sticky Foods
When it comes to picking healthy sweet snacks, many will choose dried fruit, and they also fall into the category of worst foods for teeth.
As you know, dried fruits are sticky, and all sticky foods can damage your teeth because they tend to stay on teeth longer than other types of food.
We bet you all have felt those on your teeth, and eventually you end up washing and rinsing them, just to get rid of that stickiness glued.
Crunchy Foods
There’s no person in the world who doesn’t fancy some tasty potato chips. But, loving that nice and satisfying crunch – falls into a category of the worst foods for teeth too.
Unfortunately, they are filled with starch which usually get trapped in your teeth.
Even though you know this information and you still choose to indulge these snacks, you need to take an extra care when you brush and floss, so you can remove all food particles left behind.
Sugary Drinks
If possible – skip all sugary drinks.
Consuming them for longer periods of time, enables plaque bacteria to use sugar from the drinks to produce acids, which in turn will attack your enamel surface (the hard surface of your teeth).
Most often, carbonated soft drinks, caffeinated beverages are acidic by nature and bad for your teeth, and can also dry out your mouth too.
In case you can’t resist consuming soft drinks, at least keep some water alongside to flush your mouth (and teeth) with it.
Alcohol
Alcohol consumption can cause dehydration and dry mouth, and most often people who drink excessively, may have saliva flow reduction over time, which usually leads to having tooth decay, and also other oral infections (gum disease).
Be aware if you abuse alcohol too much as it increases your risk for getting a mouth cancer.
Popcorn
Even though, this is everybody’s favorite snack, it can be “deadly” for your teeth and gums.
Why?
Because sometimes eating half-popped popcorn kernels can crack teeth, and not to mention those sneaky husk sliding into your gum creating inflammation.
Even worse, it can slide in-between teeth, and no floss can take it out unless you visit a dentist.
Therefore, be careful while eating them if you don’t want to end up with sore mouth and dental visit.
Sweet Coffee Drinks
Almost everybody loves a good cup of coffee, and the variety of them has gone up to the roof.
Beware!
Constant exposure to the milk and sugar, will make it difficult for the saliva to combat all those sugars and acids produced by the bacteria in your mouth.
Saliva is known to be a great teeth protector, and if it is under constant sugar attack, over time, the salivary glands can fail to keep it up.
Even though you are a the biggest fan of coffee and no one can make you stop (even science), at least try to drink it less than usual or in moderate way.
Keep your teeth healthy and unstained.
Pumpkin Seeds
Although they are very healthy and contain a wide array of beneficial plant compounds known as phytosterols and free-radical antioxidants, they are proved not to be the best friends to your teeth.
People eat these seeds by cracking them open with their front teeth, which can easily cause chipping of the edges of your frontal teeth.
There are also cases when eating too many pumpkin seeds can trigger migraine headaches in some people. But, if you’re not prone to migraines, you probably won’t develop one.
Before you chip any tooth from cracking pumpkin seeds, check if they’re OK and not spoiled, because you don’t want to end up being exposed to free radicals, which are toxic compounds which can increase your risk of cancer, heart disease and other chronic illnesses.
Chewing Ice
Is there something worse than this? Ew, who chews ice these days??
You need to stop doing that because it’s teeth destructive, and you can cause stress fractures in you teeth.
If you still wanna do it, be aware that you can break a piece of your tooth, you know? Or even better, read this article – Top Reasons why you need to stop chewing ice and you’ll see why you need to stop doing it.
Energy Drinks
In a category of worst foods for teeth- energy drinks fall as well.
Energy drinks are super acidic, they have low pH values and high sugar content. Unfortunately, they are very popular among students which want to be up all night long – whether to study or party.
What’s worse, they coat all teeth and affect them equally, and if you are a “party animal” consuming these drinks for more than one occasion – be aware – as you may end up with a mouth full of cavities.
Not only you’ll suffer – but your wallet too when going to a dental office and cure the damage caused by negligence.
Sports Drinks
In a first place, most athletic drinks were created to re-hydrate athletes and replenish lost nutrients and electrolytes during heavy exercise.
However, even though they offer some health benefits, they are loaded with too much sugar.
Liquid sugars are notorious for causing cavities and are even more detrimental when introduced into a dry oral environment.
Try to avoid these unless you’re a high-performance athlete, and if you need to re-hydrate – do it with plain water.
Gummy Style Candies
All gummy-style candies should be avoided because they ruin teeth, and please don’t give them to your kids no matter how much they cry for them.
They are terrible for teeth in general because they stick to all areas of the tooth, and more acid gets produced by cavity-causing bacteria.
Barbecue Sauce
BBQ parties are always great for socializing, but DO know that your teeth will suffer.
How so?
Well, those sticky, red and delicious sauces are major factor for cavities to happen.
All barbecued meats are some of the worst foods for teeth because of caramelized sugar presence used in sauces.
But sauce isn’t the only problem. There’s possibility to crack your teeth on parts of the meat that may have over-caramelized.
By far, sugar is the worst enemy for teeth.
As you can see, many of your pleasures can cost you health, and consuming the worst ones – may force you to become regular visitors to dental offices which in turn can cost a pile of money.
It’s up to you to choose whether you’ll still go along with your bad eating habits, or you’ll switch to much healthier ones.
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