When scrolling through social media, you saw that one of your favorite influencers is on a new diet. They claim that it has all these amazing benefits, so you’re thinking about trying it yourself. Though some diets may be beneficial in helping you sleep better, reducing your body weight, or feeling more energized, not all of them are good for your smile. To help you avoid damaging your pearly whites on your journey towards better overall wellbeing, here are three diet trends that are bad news for your oral health.
Trend #1: Juice Cleanses
Though fruits and veggies are full of vitamins and minerals, consuming them only in the form of juice robs your body of the nutrients it needs to keep your smile healthy. Additionally, since fruit is high in natural sugar, this diet gives harmful oral bacteria the food it needs to do a lot of damage to your smile over a short time.
Trend #2: Raw Food Diets
This diet consists of eating only or mostly unprocessed and uncooked foods in hopes of getting the nutrients your body needs without consuming unnecessary chemicals or preservatives. Unfortunately, foods that are commonly eaten on this diet like fruit and nuts can harm your smile. As previously mentioned, fruit is high in sugar and can raise your chances of decay. Additionally, seeds can easily get caught between your teeth or in your gums, which gives cavity-causing bacteria a long time to feed on them and do damage to your pearly whites.
Trend #3: Small Meals
Do you want to maintain a small waist? Celebrities and dieticians alike claim that eating several small meals each day instead of three bigger ones will allow you to do just that. Even if this diet successfully helps you maintain a slim frame, the damage it can do to your teeth isn’t worth it. When you eat, the level of acid in your mouth increases. These acids eat away at your tooth enamel, which raises your chances of developing cavities. Eating extra meals throughout the day means you’re exposing your teeth to even more acid than usual, which is bad news for your smile.
What to Eat Instead
So, what foods should you eat that are good for your smile? A few dentist-approved foods to incorporate into your meals include:
- Hard, fibrous fruits and vegetables – Apples, carrots, and pears can help clean your teeth and increase saliva production to neutralize acids left in your mouth.
- Low-fat or fat-free dairy products – Cheese, milk, and plain yogurt are low in sugar and high in calcium, which is key for maintaining good bone density. They also contain casein, a protein that helps fortify tooth enamel.
- Lean meats and fatty fish – High-fat fish like salmon contain phosphorus, which helps protect tooth enamel. Lean meats like turkey and chicken also contain nutrients that protect enamel. They are also a good source of calcium and plaque-fighting nutrients.
Before you hop on new diet trends, make sure to consult your dentist first. They will be able to tell you if it’s bad for your oral health and can recommend alternatives so you can gain a healthier body while maintaining a beautiful smile!
About the Practice
Patient care is the top priority for Dr. David Beard, Dr. Paul R. Gaston, Dr. Eric Buck, and their compassionate Marion team at Cross Creek Dental Care. They aim to make you feel relaxed throughout treatment and can help you learn the best way to care for your pearly whites so you can achieve the smile you’ve always wanted. To make an appointment with Cross Creek Dental Care or if you have questions about their many service offerings, call (740) 725-8000 or visit their website.