Maintaining proper oral health is essential to ensure you can eat, socialize, and speak without discomfort, embarrassment, and pain. This is possible by concentrating on how much, the kind, and how often you eat some foods. Eating some kinds of foods like sugar can affect your mouth, teeth, and gums after they have been digested.
If you have recently visited a dental clinic in Dexter MI, you probably got another warning against sugar. So, how harmful can it be? Read on to know the answer:
Why Sugar is a Threat to Your Oral Health
A lot of bacteria, both good and bad, reside in your mouth. The bad bacteria feed on sugar and release acid that damages the enamel of your tooth. Bacterial acids can result in dental cavities. When not treated promptly, cavities can penetrate the deeper layers of your tooth, resulting in tooth pain and loss.
Moreover, much of people’s diet in the country has hidden sugars. Nearly all food available on shelves has added sugar, and a lot of beverages have it too. In fact, even fruits and vegetables have sugar. However, tooth decay often results from the sugar contained in processed foods. And if you do not brush your teeth right after eating, you give something for your mouth bacteria to feed on.
How Remineralization Helps
As your teeth are attacked by acids, your mouth is reversing the damage. The process called remineralization restores and strengthens teeth that have been attacked by acids. Your saliva has essential minerals such as calcium and phosphates that are necessary for teeth repair. Also, fluoride helps repair weak and damaged enamel. But remineralization may not be enough to counter the acid attacks if you tend to consume sweets and starches every day. Thus, you must limit the amount of sugar you consume so your mouth can naturally repair the damage and keep your oral health in shape.
Helping Your Teeth
Eliminating sugar from your diet may not be possible. But you can start by changing where you get your sugar. Consuming more fruits and vegetables rather than processed food will minimize the amount of sugar you put into your mouth, and this can benefit your overall health.
Brushing and flossing your teeth regularly helps remove dental plaque. When you brush and floss, pay attention to places that are difficult to reach, such as between your teeth, close to your gums, and the back of your mouth. Make sure to brush your teeth twice every day and floss once a day. Also, do not skip your dental cleaning appointments.