No matter your age, tooth decay can affect you. A plaque causes dental decay with bacteria that feed on sugars in your diet, causing cavities. Cavities are caused by bacteria eating sugar, turning it into acid, which dissolves your teeth’ enamel.
Sugary foods can make your teeth decay and cause plaque. This article will talk about foods to stay away from or limit to keep your teeth healthy.
What foods should you be most concerned about?
You should avoid sticky and sugary foods in general. The bacteria attacking your teeth have more opportunities to damage your teeth when foods are sticky. Also, acids can damage tooth enamel, making them the wrong choice. Acidic and sweet foods and drinks (such as soda) can cause double the damage to your teeth.
The foods listed below are not harmful to your health. But experts suggest brushing, flossing, and rinsing your mouth after consuming these food items to prevent cavities from forming.
Popcorn
In addition to being a healthy snack alternative to chips, popcorn is very hard on your teeth for several reasons. Popcorn usually goes with a long movie, so bacteria have more time to damage your teeth as you watch. Moreover, popcorn gets stuck between teeth almost every time you eat it. Have a toothpick and some water on hand or floss ready when you’re done eating.
Furthermore, those hard unpopped kernels are perfect for cracking teeth if you bite them. So take care if you consume popcorn in bulk.
Refined carbs
White bread, crackers, chips, and french fries are all refined carbohydrates popular with children. The sugar in these foods can be broken down into energy. These sugars ferment, resulting in lactic acid, which erodes tooth enamel once mixed with the bacteria in our mouths.
Soft, sticky bread and rolls are the worst culprits for causing acid to form.
Dry Fruits
Many people believe that healthy, nutritious snacks like raisins, dried apricots, or fruit roll-ups are better for your teeth than candy. However, even though these fruits have dried out, they contain a lot of sugar. In addition, the chewy texture of the treats makes them more likely to stick to the teeth, allowing bacteria to multiply.
Soft drinks
Acid is found in all soft drinks, regardless of whether they contain sugar. Cavities will develop if your teeth are damaged, and your teeth will erode. To keep your teeth healthy, avoid drinking soft drinks. You can replace them with unsweetened tea or water instead. Also, when drinking a soft drink, avoid brushing your teeth right afterward since acid softens the tooth enamel and makes it more vulnerable to abrasion.
Pickles
Vinegar is used in pickle foods and contains acid. It is essential for the pickling process. However, this acid can cause staining and erosion of tooth enamel. Also, pickled foods contain sugars that can cause cavities.
Wine
Red and white wine both contain erosive acids, which soften the enamel. Besides tannins, red wine also contains compounds known as anthocyanins, which irritate your mouth and stain your teeth. Brush your teeth beforehand if you know you will drink wine to help reduce plaque that can stick to your teeth. If you drink wine, you should wait 30 minutes to brush your teeth to prevent brushing wine into your teeth.
Citrus fruits
Citrus fruits are an essential part of a healthy diet, but if you eat them in large quantities on their own, the citric acid in the fruit destroys the enamel of your teeth, leaving them susceptible to cavities. Especially highly acidic fruits are limes, lemons, and grapefruits. Make sure to use a straw when drinking juice so that some of the acids bypass your teeth.
Pasta sauce
Despite being an excellent source of vitamins, tomatoes are acidic. The acid in the red sauce can cause your enamel to break down, and the carbohydrates in pasta encourage the growth of bacteria that cause cavities when you eat pasta topped with red sauce.
Hard candy
When you chew hard candies, they linger in your mouth until they dissolve. Some hard candies take about ten minutes to dissolve, and eating candy has no health benefits. In addition, because the sugary treat stays in your mouth so long, it gives bacteria a lot of opportunities to damage your teeth. In addition to cracking teeth, hard candy can also result in cuts inside the mouth.
PB&J sandwiches
Sugar and sticky ingredients are used in peanut butter. Try using natural peanut butter with no added sugar to reduce the problem. Furthermore, the jam has high sugar content. Even jams made from all fruits contain natural sugars that promote plaque and bacteria formation when not rinsed right away.
BOTTOM LINE
Try to limit these above-mentioned foods and have them in reasonable amounts. If you eat these foods excessively, brush and floss your teeth as soon as possible to avoid prolonging the bacteria exposure and tooth decay.