Diet has a mammoth part to play in whether or not your teeth will sustain erosion and cavities. With an increasing number of processed and sugar-laden food and drink hitting our shelves, education on what to avoid or enjoy in moderation is more important than ever.
We’ve found that one of the gaps in patients’ knowledge is just how severe acid attacks are on their teeth. Below, we’ll go into the level of damage plaque can cause (which may surprise you), and which food and drink will slowly (but surely) destroy your teeth (and our tips for enjoying them responsibly).
Fizzy drinks
Carbonated drinks (particularly those that aren’t the ‘diet’ kind), cause severe enamel erosion. Even carbonated drinks posing as fruit-based can be some of the worst culprits for dental erosion, which can progress at an alarming rate.
Darker fizzy drinks including Cola and Pepsi not only cause erosion, but yellowing too, leaving you with teeth lacking their natural translucency and white shade.
Our tip: try to keep fizzy drinks to the minimum use during the week, . If you are going to enjoy fizzy drinks, make sure you don’t sip them throughout the day, as it’s the frequency of the acid attacks on your teeth that really do the damage. The more often your teeth have to recover after acid attacks, the worse the damage. Use a straw (reusable or environmentally friendly ones) so that the liquid doesn’t hit the teeth, try to consume such drinks with meals instead of on their own, swish your mouth with water to dilute acid left in the mouth, never brush your teeth immediately after finishing anything acidic, leave it for few hours and then brushing can be done.
Fruit juice
Whilst it might feel like you’re making a healthy investment by enjoying a glass of orange juice in the mornings, the damage to your teeth can be severe.
Don’t get us wrong, orange juice (not from concentrate) is incredibly good for you, containing vitamin C that aids with the absorption of other vitamins. However, in the UK we tend to enjoy a large portion of fruit juice in the morning (a recommended portion is 150ml), plus, many of us don’t follow it up with water to counteract the sugar.
Our tip: drink a sip of water between each tip of juice to prevent acid attacks.
Bagels
Bagels weren’t traditionally a food that contained a huge amount of sugar. However, many of the brands we find on our shelves in the supermarket contain a shocking amount of sugar.
This, coupled with a bagel’s tendency to become stuck within the chewing surface of individual teeth, make them a harmful food for your teeth. Even with a big swig of water after consumption, it can be a real challenge to dislodge starchy bread-based products like bagels from teeth. What’s more, if you’re enjoy your bagels with sugar-rich jam, this will only increase the level of damage done to your teeth.
Our tip: try looking for brands with no added sugar, which are low in gluten (or gluten-free). This will reduce the acid attacks on your teeth, and the possibility of the starch becoming stuck in your teeth.
Sports drinks
Another type of product that can masquerade as ‘healthy’ is sports drinks.
In 2019, researchers from University College London found that athletes had poor teeth, despite brushing twice a day. One of the primary theories researchers came away with was that the cause of severe decay amongst athletes could have been due to high-sugar sports drinks and gel consumption.
Our tip: read the RDA of sugar on the sports drinks you buy, paying particular attention to how much sugar is in each 100ml. Many 500ml and 1-litre sports drinks exceed your RDA (recommend daily amount) sugar (which is a failing on the part of the food industry), so make sure you don’t finish the whole helping in a single day if it exceeds your RDA of sugar.
Coffee and tea
Black coffee and black tea with sugar are the biggest culprits here, containing no neutralising force to mitigate the diuretic effect of the caffeine.
Caffeine is well-known to dry out the mouth, and black coffee in particular contains tannins that not only superficially stain your teeth, but that have the power to erode your tooth enamel.
Our tip: if you love milk less coffee like espresso, macchiato or long black coffee, or you enjoy tea without milk, be sure to sip on some water afterwards to stop the tannins from drying out your mouth.
If you can add a little milk to your coffee to counteract the drying effect of the tannins, and limit your sugars in hot drinks, this will have a positive impact on your oral environment. Milk (and dairy in general) is great for neutralising acids in your mouth, as it raises the pH level in your mouth.
Your hygienist is an indispensable force for preventing plaque from destroying your teeth, gums and jawbone.
None of us has a perfect diet – even super health-conscious celebrities have cheat days that lead to acid attacks, resulting in plaque build up along their gum line.
What we’re trying to say is that everyone needs routine hygienist cleaning, even if they have a low-sugar diet (keto, for example). Plaque will still form and settle along your gum line regardless of your diet and brushing routine, and along with routine cleanings, you can quash the onset of gum disease by enjoying the foods we’ve listed above in moderation.
Our hygienists offer gentle hygienist cleanings with instruments designed to make your experience a pleasant and therapeutic one.
If you’re looking for a dentist in Uxbridge, Denpure is accepting new patients for routine preventive care and cosmetic and restorative treatment. Contact us to book your appointment here.
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