Food and Beverages That Are Bad for the Teeth

Want to maintain your great smile? The answer is simple, really – PREVENTION. Although crowns, fillings, professional whitening, and other treatment can make your teeth brighter and stronger, it is still better and cheaper to avoid stains and cavities from developing in the first place by brushing and flossing regularly, and of course, by eating right! The food and beverages that we ingest have a big impact on our teeth.

Here are some foods and beverages that you need to watch out for:

Citrus Fruits

As much as citrus fruits and juices are a rich source of vitamin C and other essential nutrients, they are not so good when it comes to the teeth. Lemon juice and grapefruit, in particular, are highly acidic and they can erode tooth enamel over time. Orange juice, however, is less acidic, and there are many store-bought varieties that are also fortified with teeth-friendly vitamin D and calcium. So when you do drink fortified orange juice, make sure that you brush and floss afterward.

Chewy Candies

Keep this simple concept in mind: the stickier the candy, the worse it is for your teeth. Extra-chewy candies like caramels or taffy tend to stick to and between the teeth for a long time, thus allowing the bacteria in the mouth to feast on the deposited sugars.

Hard Candies

Hard candies like Jolly Ranchers do not cling to the teeth as much as chewy ones, but they still have their downside. Unlike chocolate-based sugary treats which can be washed away easily, hard candies dissolve slowly and saturate the mouth for several minutes at a time, thus giving bacteria more time to produce harmful acid. There are also many varieties of hard candies that are flavoured with citric acid.

Soda

It is not a secret that drinking too many sugary sodas can breed cavities. What most people do not know is that the acids found in carbonated drinks appear to be more harmful than their sugar content. Even sugar-free diet sodas can erode enamel if consumed in large doses! If you cannot do without soda, you should best drink it during a meal instead of sipping it throughout the day. The food helps neutralize the acid.

Sports Drinks

If you are in the mood for something fizzy or sweet, energy and sports drinks might seem like a better alternative to soda. However, energy drinks will not do your teeth any favours either! These beverages are, in fact, acidic, too, and they are potentially even more damaging to the teeth.

Next month, we will be posting more foods and beverages that are harmful to the teeth; so watch out for that!