Despite the rash of very unhealthy foods that range from two pieces of fried chicken sandwiched on either side of a mound of cheese and burgers made with a pair of glazed donuts, many people are turning to foods that will help them lose weight, have more energy, and overall gain a more healthy lifestyle.
While it’s good to think of your body as a whole, one thing that’s easy to overlook is dental health. What you eat and drink can drastically affect the condition of your teeth, to the point that going overboard on sweets and whatnot can severely damage your chompers and lead to costly dental treatments or tooth loss.
How can you prevent such things from happening? We suggest that you start by adopting these four lifestyle changes:
Cut Out the Sugary Sodas
At times, this country seems to have been built on Coke and Pepsi. We know how difficult these drinks are to resist. After all, they’re everywhere you go, from gas stations and convenience stores to fast food restaurants and movie theaters … and, of course, they’re quite tasty. But make no mistake — these sugary sodas are highly acidic and detrimental to your overall health, and they eat away at your teeth like nobody’s business. This is especially true for office workers and others who “nurse” their soda for hours, because it results in a constant acid bath and film of sugar on your teeth. Although diet sodas try to fool you into thinking they’re a healthy alternative, they’re not really any better. Avoid them at all costs and switch to flavored water with no preservatives or a squeeze of lemon. You’ll improve your over health and your dental health.
Increase Your Water Intake
We’re sure you get tired of hearing people tell you to drink more water, but it’s absolutely true. Water does a fantastic job at cleaning sugar and other harmful substances from your mouth, in addition to improving your overall health in a lot of ways. If you insist on drinking sugary acidic drinks from time to time, at least make sure that you drink water to wash away the nastiness, which will help prevent bad breath and tooth decay. Although not everyone agrees to have much water you should drink on a daily basis, going by the “old school” belief of eight cups per day is a great standard to achieve.
Move on from Chewy Candies
If someone out there is ever able to create tasty, chewy candies that don’t hurt a person’s oral health in one way or another, they’ll be richer than Midas. As it stands now, though, this just isn’t happening. It’s not just when you eat the candy that’s harmful. The problem is that these sticky sugars are allowed to hang around for an extended amount of time. Hard candies dissolve and disappear much more quickly from your mouth, but if you insist on chewy candies, make sure that you drink some water afterwards to flush out the sugar.
Switch to Xylitol Gum
Many gum users — or chewers, as the case may be — may already be aware that chewing gum is really good for your mouth because it helps it stay moist, which freshens your breath and keeps your tongue and gums healthy. If you want to go one step further, you should chew xylitol gum. This type of gum doesn’t contain sugar, but it’s still sweet and your mouth can’t break it down, which can also help prevent bad breath and tooth decay.
Although these lifestyle changes can help improve your dental health, nothing beats regular dentist visits, because this is where you can learn the condition of your teeth and gums, and what can be done to make improvements. Contact the office of Dr. Bruce McArthur, DDS and we’ll get you started on a regimen that will keep your teeth healthy and clean.