4 Most Toxic Foods for Your Teeth and Gums

What is the thing that is running blood through our veins and air through our lungs? The answer is food. The food we eat is converted into glucose and energy that our body uses to function well.

Everyone takes pleasure in having their favourite snack or drink. But not all foods and drinks that you love are good for your health, especially your oral health. A lot of foods and beverages we consume hurt our teeth and gums. Hence, you are advised to curb the intake of these foods whenever you visit your dental clinic.

1. Sweet Foods and Beverages

Candies, cakes, chocolates, and fizzy drinks are a child’s loved food choice, and some of us even savour them even in our adulthood. But these sweet, sugary, and chewy foods are the most notorious causes of dental problems in children and adults. These foods leave behind the residues of sugar that hide in the crevices of your mouth. Harmful bacteria thrive on these sugar residues and release acids that further cause cavities, decay, gum diseases, and other dental problems.

2. Sour Fruits

Citrus fruits, kiwi, berries etc. contain tooth staining substances. Although they are considered to be some of the healthy foods for oral as well as overall health, they still have some ill-effects. Citrus fruits have citric acid in them, so the sourer the fruit, the more yellowish your teeth appear. This makes you embarrassed at times and calls for a teeth whitening procedure at the dental clinic. Talk to your dentist and find out which fruits you must avoid and also understand the quantity you can consume without worrying about oral problems.

3. Bread

A lot of people eat some amount of bread every day. It sure is a staple food, but it takes a lot of cleaning to remove what it leaves behind on the teeth. Bread has starch and carbohydrates which are broken down when you chew it. Bread is turned into sticky sugar as it combines with saliva. The sugar then forms a film on the contours of the teeth. The film is hardly noticed, but it acts as the starting point of most oral health problems.

4. Coffee

Edward Abbey said, ‘our culture runs on coffee and gasoline, the first often tasting like the second.’ Now you don’t want to drink gasoline, do you? Coffee in large amounts will do the same job for your health.

Coffee and tea are some of the most loved beverages across the globe. But drinking a lot of coffee can lead to diseases like gingivitis. Adding sugar to coffee is a common practice. The caffeine in the coffee mixes with sugar and becomes more lethal for your tooth’s enamel. Teeth staining happens due to the caffeine and sugar causes enamel erosion, which causes sensitivity.

If you can’t stop these foods and beverages entirely, you can at least try to cut down on them. Always visit a dental clinic to get a report of all the damage your food has done to your teeth. Your dentist will then suggest the best solutions for the damages caused.