Everyone knows that brushing your teeth and flossing daily helps keep your teeth and gums healthy. However, most people overlook nutrition as something that can impact dental health. By keeping a healthy, balanced diet, you can improve both your general health and your dental health. According to the Canadian Dental Association, “without the right nutrients, your teeth and gums can become more susceptible to decay and gum disease.”
Here are a few helpful nutrition tips you can follow:
- Choose sugar-free snacks. Instead of reaching for the cookie jar, try some cottage cheese and fresh fruit for a change. Stay away from the vending machine! Not only will eating healthier snacks improve your dental health, but you might just lose some weight as a bonus!
- Use sugar substitutes. When making your morning coffee or afternoon tea, use a sugar substitute instead of adding the real sugar. It’s likely you won’t even be able to tell the difference.
- Put down the soda pop and pick up some water. Avoid sugar-sweetened soft drinks and juices with added sugar.
- Read lists of ingredients when you’re grocery shopping. If you discover that the items on your list have ingredients like honey, molasses, glucose, or fructose you may want to opt for something else, as these are all just variations of sugar.
- Sticky is icky. When you do indulge in sweets, avoid the sticky kind. The sticker the sweet, the harder it clings to your teeth and the harder it is to brush away.
Examples of healthy snacks that won’t harm your teeth:
- Plain milk and buttermilk
- Fruit and raw vegetables
- Plain yogurt, cheese and cottage cheese
- Hard boiled or devilled eggs
- Nuts, sunflower or pumpkin seeds
- Melba toast
- Salads
For more information and oral health tips, visit the Canadian Dental Association website.
