Many people don’t realize the effects that food can have on the appearance of our teeth and smile. Although nature has blessed us with various edibles, not all of them are good for dental hygiene. 

Find out the best and worst foods for your teeth so  you can make better choices to achieve a healthy and bright smile!

5 best foods for your teeth:

Crunchy veggies

Crunchy vegetables, such as carrots, celery, or broccoli, offer a natural way to clean your teeth as well as keeping your jaw firm and active. These foods require a lot of chewing so that you can digest them. 

As people chew, they produce more saliva, and these vegetables release  water as well. This can help remove leftover particles in the tiniest corners of your teeth. Combined with daily oral hygiene at home, you only need to find a dentist for a clean-up on schedule!

Leafy greens

Leafy greens like lettuce and spinach have an abundance of folic acid, vitamins, and calcium. These three nutrients are some of the key ingredients in making your teeth and gums stronger. They provide the building blocks for healthy oral function.

Cheese

Besides being a must-have ingredient in comfort foods, cheese is a beneficial food for your smile. It has a naturally low sugar content and offers a surplus of calcium and casein, both of which promote strong teeth and enamel. 

Cheese also contains phosphate which neutralizes your pH levels. Moreover, cheese also requires more chewing than other dairy products, which produces more saliva to help wash away bacteria.

Fatty fish and red meats

Fatty fish, such as salmon, and red meat have tons of nutrients that help protect and strengthen your teeth and gums. For instance, fish species with high-fat content provide phosphorus, which fortifies your tooth enamel. 

Besides, these meats also require a lot of chewing, which means more saliva that can help in cleaning away food particles and bacteria.

Onion And garlic

Yes, they are bad news for your breath, especially right before a dentist appointment, but these foods are also amazing for your smile, especially if you eat them raw. 

Garlic, for example, contains allicin, which is an antimicrobial substance. This helps fight harmful microbes in your dental cavity and helps fight tooth decay and periodontal disease. Likewise, onions are rich in antibacterial properties that help in fighting gum and tooth decay.

5 worst foods for your teeth:

Sugary foods

Sugar is perhaps the worst food for your teeth, as it results in serious decay which can lead to cavities. This is because the longer you have sugar in your mouth, the harder it is for saliva to wash it away. 

Usually, sugar from baked goods such as cakes and cookies and hard candies, or high sugar bubble gums, results in plaque between and on your teeth.

Carbonated drinks

Carbonated or fizzy drinks damage your teeth and health in multiple ways. First of all, many of them contain sugar, which is bad for teeth. Even if you consume zero-sugar drinks, they can be just as harmful. 

Both non-sugar and sugary beverages are a major cause of tooth decay and can also weaken gum support. Lastly, carbonated sports drinks also create stains on your teeth with a yellow or brown tinge that’s hard to eliminate.

Vinegar

Vinegar is a major component of your diet that contributes to teeth staining and enamel damage. Whether you use it to make pickles or consume it directly, vinegar generally has a harmful influence on your dental health. It’s also acidic in taste, which can disturb your oral pH levels.

Tomato sauces

Tomato-based sauces, such as pasta sauce or ketchup, contain high levels of tomato and tomato derivatives. Both of these are acidic in nature, so an excess of tomato-based foods means your teeth are in serious danger. 

If you couple this with pasta or spaghetti, the damage is worse because carbs allow bacteria to feed on exposed dental areas where the enamel is weak because of the acidic sauce.

Dried fruits

Dried fruits such as raisins, bananas, etc., have a hardened, gummy texture which makes them sticky and hard to chew. This makes it difficult for the saliva to remove clingy bits of leftovers. They also contain high levels of concentrated sugar, which ends up causing tooth decay if you eat them regularly.