There is a massive link between your diet and your health. Everyone knows that eating good, healthy food is amazing for your energy levels, immune system, brain and heart health and much more. However, there are also many links between your appearance and your body.

Your diet can affect your hair, your skin, and your teeth. There are many foods that can damage your teeth, and many unexpected foods that could improve your overall oral health.

By making a few changes to your diet, you could be one step further to having healthy teeth that look great.

Great Foods For Healthy Teeth

Dairy Products

This is a very common and obvious food choice, but the effects of dairy products on your teeth are amazing. Firstly, dairy products like milk, cheese and yoghurts are high in calcium, which is amazing to strengthen your teeth and bones. They also contain the protein casein, which fortifies your teeth enamel.

This protects your teeth from damage from sugary foods. Cheese in particular is high in phosphate content, which helps balance the PH in your mouth and could help you protect against gingivitis and other oral infections.

Fruits and Leafy Greens

Fruits such as apples and pears are amazing for your teeth. When you eat hard, fibrous fruits such as apples and pears, they help clean your teeth and increase your salivation levels, which help balance your mouth’s PH. Leafy greens are rich in folic acid and calcium, which are fantastic for strengthening your teeth. When you eat leafy greens, they also help to clean your teeth. Eating fibrous fruits and leafy vegetables also helps stimulate your gums, which is great for preventing gum disease.

Nuts

Nuts also include calcium, which is fantastic for strengthening your teeth. They also include high amounts of phosphorus, which helps keep your teeth healthy. Cashew nuts are by far the best choice, as they contain so many elements that may make your teeth much healthier.

They contain a lot of nutrients, including folic acid, fibre, iron, magnesium, niacin, Vitamin B6, potassium and zinc. Nuts are a high source of protein, which is also fantastic for strengthening your bones and teeth.

Meats and Fish

Meats and fish often offer a lot of the same nutrients that have already been mentioned; however, they are significantly good for your oral health. Chewing meat and fish produces saliva, which makes sure that your mouth isn’t dry. A dry mouth can result in oral infections such as gingivitis and increased rates of tooth decay.

However, if you’re a vegetarian, you don’t need to become a carnivore in order to improve your dental health. Tofu is a common meat alternative for vegans and vegetarians and contains high amounts of phosphorus. This helps to protect your teeth’ enamel, which protects your teeth from bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Whole Grains

White bread often contains a lot of sugar, so if you eat a lot of white bread, it could be affecting the health of your teeth. A lot of people say that carbohydrates stick to your teeth and cause cavities, however, this does not apply to wholegrains. Whole wheat bread, pasta, brown rice, and oatmeal are great foods to improve your teeth.

They offer plenty of nutrients which help your body thrive. They are a much better choice than white bread and rice, as whole grain foods have complex carbohydrates, which starves potential bacteria in your mouth.

Foods to Avoid

Avoiding sugar is an obvious idea – however, are there unexpected foods that you should avoid?

Zero Sugar Drinks

Many people switch to zero sugar drinks because they believe that they are much better than full sugar drinks. However, zero sugar drinks contain a lot of harmful citric acids and chemicals which damage the enamel on your teeth. One of the best ways in which you can improve this is by drinking through a straw, so that these harmful ingredients don’t sit on your teeth for as long. You should also try switching to water instead of constantly drinking lots of fizzy drinks.

Dried Fruits

A lot of people like to eat dried fruits, and in many ways, they are pretty healthy. However, they could be wreaking havoc on your teeth. For example, they are full of sugar, which harms oral health. They are also particularly sticky, meaning they easily get stuck in the spaces between your teeth.

This means that you may not be able to clean them off properly, which can be harmful to your dental health. Try to limit the amount of dried apricots, cranberries and raisins you eat.

Tea/Coffee

This can be a divisive one. Many people say that the elements in tea and coffee stain your teeth, which can harm your teeth’ overall appearance. Taking sugar or syrup in your tea or coffee may also be harmful as it sits on your teeth. However, leading researchers on all four implants have found that tea and coffee also contain polyphenols, which can reduce inflammation, combat cell damage, and even help to fight cancer.

You can protect your teeth against decay and damage by making a few small changes to your diet – you can start eating your way to a beautiful smile today.