As Christmas approaches, the thought which pops in our mind is Christmas gifts, Christmas cake, cookies and children being on their best behavior to be on Santa’s ‘Good List’ and avoid Santa’s ‘Naughty List’. In all this excitement we tend to forget about our teeth. So this Christmas we made our own list just like Santa. We often hear and know about food items which are good for our health and which aren’t. So let us find out about food items good for our teeth.
HOW TO KEEP TEETH MERRY AND BRIGHT
Food Items on Good List
Vegetables :
It is no secret that fresh vegetables contain lots of minerals, vitamins which are important for our health. These vitamins also promote good health of gums. Vegetables don’t contain any added sugar thus keeping cavities at bay. It will be great to include food which require lots of chewing like carrots, cucumber in your diet. The fibers in them provide the roughage required to remove the plaque accumulated on teeth.
Fruits :
Haven’t we heard about the saying ‘An Apple a day keeps the doctor away’? Fruits provide the best and healthiest option for sweets. But along with overall health the fibers in fruits also provide the roughage needed to keep our teeth clean. Fruits increase the saliva flow which helps in prevention of cavity formation. If you or your child has a sweet tooth, try opting for a fruit instead of sweets.
Nuts :
Don’t we all love to pop something in our mouth while watching television or reading a book? But we usually resort to chocolates or chips which prove to be harmful for our teeth. At such times we can always keep nuts like almonds, cashew, peanuts handy and eat them at our heart’s will. They are rich in protein and low in sugar. They also increase saliva flow and help to wash out the food particles.
Water :
How can our list be complete without Water! Water is the one which plays a major role in cavity prevention. Whenever we drink water, it helps to wash out the food particles.
Food Items on Naughty List
Sweets and Chocolates :
The naughtiest for our teeth are ‘Sweets’! Sweets, chocolates and candies stick on our teeth and make them prone to cavities. The way we love these sweets, oral bacteria in our mouth love to feed on them too. By doing so, they create acids which lead to cavities.
Coffee and Tea :
If you wish to have pearly white teeth all year long, avoid tea and coffee. They easily stain our teeth making them dull and yellowish.
Soda and Soft drinks :
Soft drinks and all carbonated drinks contain lots of sugar which is harmful. But along with sugar they are acidic in nature. Due to the acidic nature, carbonated drinks causes removal of enamel of teeth. Enamel is the outermost strongest layer of teeth. When this layer gets removed, teeth can easily get cavities.
Sticky food :
Sticky food like chips, biscuits, bakery products tend to stick on our teeth and also in between teeth. It becomes very difficult to naturally clean it with tongue. These sticky food particles don’t even get removed on drinking water or just rinsing. You need to brush properly to remove them.
Follow this good and naughty food list and munch your way in New Year with Bright and Happy Smiles.