Dietary Advice
We much prefer to prevent dental disease, and one way we can help you achieve year-round oral health is by offering dietary advice. Your diet, and even when you eat certain foods, can make all the difference to your dental health
How Does Diet Affect Dental Health?
The purpose of brushing and flossing your teeth is to remove dental plaque, a sticky biofilm that contains bacteria. When you eat something sugary or starchy, for example, biscuits, crisps, or crackers, some particles remain trapped on and in between your teeth.
The bacteria in dental plaque feast on these leftovers, creating an acid that softens your tooth enamel. Tooth enamel is a tooth’s hard, protective outer coating, but repeated acid exposure can eventually weaken it, causing holes or cavities to develop. The more frequently your teeth are exposed to acids, the greater the risk of tooth decay. After eating, your mouth remains more acidic for at least half an hour before pH levels gradually begin normalising.
Who Can Benefit from Dietary Advice?
We might suggest that we analyse your diet if you have recently had a few fillings or have signs of tooth decay or soft spots in your tooth enamel, even though you have an excellent oral care routine at home. Often, when we analyse a patient’s diet, it is easy to identify areas that can benefit from some simple changes. These changes are usually quite small but can make all the difference in reducing your risk of tooth decay.
Making Small Changes to Your Diet
One change that can often make a significant difference is cutting out or changing the type of snacks between meals. Many people frequently snack between main meals to keep their energy levels high, especially with today’s busy lifestyles and choose foods high in sugars and carbohydrates or starch. The more frequently you snack on these foods between meals, the longer your teeth are exposed to acids. Choosing foods that are more tooth-friendly to snack on, for example, sugar-free yoghurt, cheese or crunchy fruits and veggies, can make a real difference to your dental health.
It’s unrealistic to expect people to cut out sugar completely, but when you want a treat, try having it during your main meal when you are already producing more saliva to help wash away the leftovers. Also, cheese is a great way to end a meal as it is rich in calcium, helping to protect and harden your tooth enamel.
