The Best Foods for a Healthy Smile

Keeping up your oral health is extremely important. The health of your mouth can impact the health of the rest of your body. While you may be keeping up with brushing, flossing, and regular visits to your Indianapolis, IN dentist, your diet could be impacting your oral health. Dr. Amy Marckese from DentalSpa offers tips on the best foods you can eat to keep your teeth healthy.

1. Sugarless Gum

You may not expect your dentist to recommend that you chew gum, but the sugarless variety has many benefits for your mouth. Chewing helps increase the production of saliva. Saliva helps keep your mouth hydrated, as well as wash away harmful bacteria. The texture of the gum may also help get particles of food out from between your teeth if you don’t have access to a toothbrush after you eat.

2. Foods with a Crunch

This refers to fresh fruits and vegetables, such as apples and carrots. Like when you chew gum, the extra chewing it takes to break down these foods helps increase the amount of saliva in your mouth. It may also help to dislodge plaque from on and in between your teeth.

3. Black or Green Tea

These teas contain compounds called polyphenols. Those compounds are found to slow bacterial growth — particularly the kind that causes cavities and gum disease. Tea contributes to having less plaque on your teeth, as well as plaque with a consistency that’s not as sticky. Just be careful not to overload your tea with sugar. This can cancel out all of the benefits tea can give.

4. Water

Water is one of the best things for the health of most of your body, including your mouth. First, water helps wash away bacteria and food particles from your mouth after a meal. It also helps keep your mouth from getting too dry, as that’s also a recipe for bacteria that stick around.

Depending on where you’re getting your water from, it’s probably also supplemented with fluoride. Tap water across the country has fluoride in it to help strengthen your teeth. It fortifies the enamel so that it’s less likely to break down and lead to tooth decay.

5. Dairy Products

As long as you’re not lactose intolerant, dairy products are one of the best things that you can eat for your teeth. They’re the main source of calcium in our diet. Calcium is a mineral that strengthens both bones and the enamel on your teeth. Cheese is especially helpful. It contains casein, a protein that works with calcium to make sure your tooth enamel is strong and ready.

6. Foods High in Fiber

High-fiber foods are also ones that require a lot of chewing, helping with that saliva production. Due to the texture of the food, it also almost scrubs your teeth while you’re chewing. This can help get plaque and tartar off of your teeth, especially if you aren’t able to brush your teeth for a while.

Your Dentist in Indianapolis, Indiana

It’s important to consider every aspect of your oral health. Call us today or schedule an appointment online to make sure your smile is healthy and bright!