What Are the Foods to Avoid for Better Oral Health?
Who doesn’t love dining out at their favourite restaurant? Or, maybe a new one has opened, and you and your friends are eager to try it out.
The challenge is balancing all this eating and drinking with keeping a healthy body and good dental health. It’s no secret that many of the things we love to eat can be really hard on our teeth.
So how do you decide what to eat and drink? In this blog, we’ve come up with a quick guide to eating healthy for your teeth
Navigating the Menu
If you’re trying to take care of your teeth, but still partake in the joys of good restaurant food, it’s important to learn how to navigate the menu. If you know the foods to avoid going in, you can preserve your dental health.
Sugary Cocktails or Wine?
When you’re dining out, what’s better to drink, wine or sugary cocktails? Here’s the bad news, most alcoholic drinks are either sugary and/or acidic, so they will either increase harmful bacteria in your mouth or break down the enamel and weaken your teeth.
Red wine is more acidic than white wine, and not to mention, it stains your teeth.
If you really must choose a less harsh drink, opt for white wine. The key is keeping a glass of water nearby and drinking it in between sips of your alcoholic beverage to rinse out its intensity.
Pasta or Seafood
Did you know that meals containing pasta are some of the most popular dishes when dining out? The problem is that a lot of pasta dishes contain many sauces which often have additives and plenty of sugar.
When you’re looking through the menu, what can you have instead of pasta? Seafood can be a better alternative. Another option is steak, which you can eat with a ton of vegetables without doing any damage to your teeth.
VERDICT: SEAFOOD
Chocolate or Fruit
Chocolate is a dessert staple, but when you’re trying to stay on top of your dental health is chocolate the right thing to reach for?
When chocolate is high in sugar, it can trigger dental bacteria that leads to gum disease or it can stick to your teeth and cause cavities. If you want to avoid this and still have a treat when dining out, why not have strawberries instead?
To make it even better, you can dip the strawberries in melted dark chocolate so you’re getting the benefits of the berries with the great taste of chocolate. Whether you’re having chocolate or strawberries, the key is moderation. Even a really good thing can be bad for your health if consumption goes unchecked.
VERDICT: FRUIT
If you take care of your teeth every single day of your life, these foods won’t have as bad an effect as they would on someone with poor oral health. At Extreme Dentistry, we can help you take care of your teeth, whether you’re in need of cosmetic, restorative or general dentistry. Get in touch with us now.
