For Strong Teeth, Diet Matters More Than Brushing

The same thing goes for oral health. You can follow all of the advice about protecting your teeth, but if your diet is poor, you’re going to face issues with your teeth no matter how well you brush.

Your wider health and your oral health are more intertwined than you might think. And just as your diet has an impact on your oral health, your oral health also plays a significant role in your wider health. In short, by taking care of one, you’re taking care of the other.

So while we aren’t saying you can stop brushing your teeth if you eat a healthy diet, we are saying that brushing your teeth won’t stop damage if your diet is poor. In this guide, we’re going to explore some of the simple ways you could be harming your oral health through your food choices.

Why is diet more important than brushing?

Brushing your teeth is still very important, and you should be doing it twice a day, along with flossing and regular trips to the dentist. But caring for your oral health doesn’t stop there. The food that you consume every day and your dietary choices have a huge impact on oral health. And it’s not only what you eat, it’s also how you eat it.

If you’re interested in how you can improve your oral health by improving your diet, try these following tips:

Stop snacking between meals

When you eat a meal, hunger triggers your salivary glands which help to neutralise the acid in your food and wash away any debris. However, when you snack between meals, you don’t have this same salivary response. So anything you eat between meals is more likely to stay stuck on and between your teeth. Like anything related to your health, doing this occasionally won’t cause an issue. It only becomes problematic when you do it frequently.

Avoid sticky or starchy foods

Chewy sweets, hard candy and starchy foods like crisps and bread are all prone to getting stuck on and between your teeth. This food debris will stay there until you next brush your teeth and the sugars will be quietly attacking your tooth enamel in the meantime. While you can enjoy these foods occasionally, you should avoid making these the bulk of your diet. And if you do occasionally enjoy these foods, try chewing a piece of gum afterwards to remove food debris from your teeth.

Eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables

We all know that a varied diet is essential for health, but it’s also a great way to make sure you’re taking care of your oral health. Your teeth, gums and jawbone require lots of vitamins and minerals to keep them healthy. This includes calcium, potassium, phosphorus and vitamins C, D, A and K. Eating a varied diet is the best way to ensure you reach your nutritional goals.

Switch fizzy drinks for water

Fizzy drinks like coke and fruit juices are very acidic. If this is where the majority of your hydration comes from, you might be doing more harm to your teeth than you realise. It’s hard to believe that orange juice could be bad for your health since it’s loaded with vitamin C, but this is another thing that should be enjoyed in moderation due to the acidic content. Switch your main drink to water and you’ll see a vast improvement in your oral health.

Final thoughts

As you can see, a few simple changes to your habits and diet can have a big impact on your oral health. First and foremost, make sure you are getting the right vitamins and minerals from your diet. Next, think about how you can make smart switches, such as eliminating fizzy drinks and replacing them with water. And finally, improve your habits so that you only eat at meal times and don’t feel the need to snack between meals. And if you do snack, make sure you follow this with a piece of chewing gum to protect your teeth.