Diet and dental health – The food that you eat plays a major role in your dental health. 1st to 7th September is celebrated as National Nutrition Week to make people aware and focus on Nutrition for their better health. While taking care of nutrition requirements for body one should also know the relationship between Oral health , Diet and Nutrition.
Balanced diet and nutrients play a key role in Dental Health. The food that we choose to eat affects not only our general health but also the health of teeth and gums. So, while consuming food one should always try to maintain the balance to avoid the risk of dental problems.
Now the question is what are the wise and unwise choices of food for maintaining dental health
Due to hectic lifestyle, availability of more sugary, processed and variety of fast food in market maintaining the balance of nutrition with good status of dental health is really difficult but with proper planning and inculcating yourself in ideal food habits one can always keep the dental health at bay!!
Wise choices (what to eat)
• Calcium rich food examples are fat free milk, yogurt, tofu, almonds, green leafy vegetables.
• Fruits like apples and sliced mangoes are good for gums and teeth.
• Phosphorous rich food is milk, grains.
• Vitamin C is found in sweet potatoes, oranges, strawberries, raw red pepper.
• Flouride content is found in water, spinach, tomatoes.
• Vitamin D rich food are milk, egg yolk, fish and limited amount of sunshine.
• Magnesium is rich in green veggies, nuts, legumes, beans.
Unwise choices (what to avoid)
• Carbonated drinks including coldrinks, energy drinks.
• Sugary food like Cakes, Pastries, Cookies, Candies, Choclates can cause Dental caries.
• Sticky food like Jellies, Honey, Caramel toffees stick to teeth and cause caries.
• Fruit drinks like Fruit drinks, Canned juices can damage tooth enamel and lead to decay.
How can I prevent common problems of oral cavity?
In this modern era, with too much availability of variety of unhealthy foo, the most common problems faced by every age group is Dental caries and Gingiviti . Gingivitis if left untreated further progresses to Periodontiti . This can simply be prevented by Balanced diet and following oral hygiene measures. Tooth decay occurs when the when the teeth and other oral tissues are attacked by acid which is by product of oral bacteria.
Certain food and food combination risk towards higher decay due to increased production of acid. Although poor nutrition directly does not cause Periodontitis but Gingivitis which is most common problem mostly among youth and adults if left untreated progresses towards Periodontitis which severely affects gums and even lead to tooth loss!!
Dental health for seniors
Losing teeth is not normal part of ageing. With proper care and balanced diet during early stages of life one can always retain most of their teeth, if not all the teeth. Common problems faced by seniors are:
• Dental caries
• Gum Disease
• Tooth loss
• Dry mouth
• Chronic diseases (Diabetes increase oral health issues)
• Oral cancers
• People irresponsibly leave their Dental caries, Gum problems untreated and thus suffer from dental issues more often in their old age with generalized loss of tooth.
Recommended habits
• Refrain from smoking. Smoking is not only bad for general health but for dental health too . Quitting smoking is the only best option to keep general and oral health at bay.
• Don’t remiss role of nutrition. Calcium, Vitamin D, Vitamin C and other nutrients through food and supplements are good for teeth.
• Limit sugary culprits and rinse your mouth with water after eating them. Best would be brushing and flossing your teeth after munching such type of food items.
• Most importantly visit your dentist. Catching dental issues early can save you from Money, pain and your time too.
• Malnutrition is risk factor for Dental health. When you have pain in oral cavity due to any reason it become difficult to eat food. Skipping meals, eating less thus severely affect your dental health more.
Dental health for your child
Healthy and good food choices for children are very necessary to be inculcated at an early age of your child to protect him or her from dental decay or other dental health problems of their Deciduous and Permanent teeth.
Tips for kids
• Firstly, teach them habit of brushing their teeth twice a day everyday in a proper manner.
• Candies, sugary drinks, cakes, pastries such type of food should be reserved for only occasions not as a part of daily snacking.
• Include the habit of drinking milk on daily basis because milk contains calcium and essential nutrients which are highly recommended for child’s overall growth and for strong teeth.
• Make sure their diet included balance of fruits and green vegetables on daily basis.
• Include whole grains, proteins, yogurt in their diet for good Dental health.
• Limit their snacking for few times a day and make sure that is healthy and nutritious enough.
Planning
• Ideal planning contributes towards good oral hygiene status and prevention from various dental problems
• Brushing twice a day, flossing, rinsing with natural mouthwash, Visiting Dentist every 6 months for regular dental check up with indulgence in Balanced and Nutritious Diet reduces the incidence of Dental caries, Halitosis (Bad breath), gum diseases and increase in immunity of body and mouth to fight against infections as well as delay the incidence and prevalence of various dental issues.
Homecare remedies and prevention
• Prevention is always better than cure. Ideal home care remedies are listed as follows –
• Drink plenty of water as water prevent attachment of micro organisms around tooth surface that lead tp formation of dental plaque and thus gingivitis and dental caries if left untreated.
• Inculcate in habit of having 1-2 serving of Fruits daily.
• Eat plenty of dark green leafy vegetables daily.
• Vitamin C rich dietary food and supplements are good source of healthy gums and teeth as well as increase immunity to combat various infections.
• Limit consumption of sugary food and beverages.
• Avoid sweet, sticky food as snacks rather take them at mealtime as increased saliva flow wash off diluting sugar.
• Brush twice a day with fluoridated tooth paste along with scheduled dental visit every 6 month.
• Mouth rinses with mouth wash or normal water after meals prevents caries and infections.
• Instead of sugary syrups ask your physician to prescribe non sugary syrups if the medicine is to be taken for long time.
Dental consultation about nutritional status
Dentists should always try to impart knowledge about Nutrition and Dental health to their patients on regular basis. If as a patient, you are not sure about nutrition and Dental health one should always try to consult their Dentist. Many people who are on Weight loss, Restrictive diet or undergoing medical conditions usually suffer from Tooth loss, pain, joint dysfunction due to imbalance in their nutritional status of body and low immunity which not only cause general body weakness, weakened immune system but also impairment in their oral health status. Talk to your dental health professional or Dietician in such circumstances.
Final note – Diet and dental health – The food that you eat plays a major role in your dental health.
Let’s pledge together in this Nutrition week to take care of general body nutrition requirements as well as Oral health nutrition requirements so as to limit the incidence of dental disease and promote the status of good dental health.
Dr Jyotsana Anand Suri
Certified medical content writer
Email: jyotsana789@gmail.com
