Some of the most important things you can do to maintain your oral health are to brush & floss your teeth & visit the dentist twice a year. But there are lots of ways you can change your everyday habits that will also improve your oral health!
Food Choices
As you may already know, what you eat can damage your teeth. But by shifting your diet to include healthier foods, you can actually strengthen your teeth and gums, especially with foods that contain calcium, fiber, vitamin A & vitamin D. Plus, these foods have lots of nutrients and vitamins that also improve your overall health!
For your oral health, it’s most important to avoid sweet foods with lots of sugar, because sugar is most easily converted into cavity-causing acids by the bacteria in your mouth. If you’re going to eat sugary foods, try to eat them along with your meals; the other food you eat will help clear away the sugar particles on your teeth.
Snacking
Snacking can be bad for your teeth, no matter what you’re eating. When you eat, bacteria in your mouth break down the food into acids that can cause cavities. If you only eat at meals, then your saliva has time in between those meals to neutralize those acids, but if you’re constantly eating in between, your saliva won’t be able to keep up!
The best thing to do is to minimize your snacking, which will give your saliva time to neutralize the acids from the foods you eat during meals. If you absolutely have to snack, try to only do it once a day, and brush your teeth afterward.
Chewing on Ice & Gum
Chewing on ice can damage your tooth enamel, so it’s best to stop this completely. If you’re thirsty, try drinking water instead, especially fluoridated water, which contains fluoride that will help strengthen your teeth.
If you just want something to chew on, try sugarless gum. Make sure it’s sugarless, though, because gum with sugar will provide fuel for damaging acids to create cavities that hurt your teeth.
