At West Gate Dental, we're proud to help patients throughout the greater Lincoln area achieve gorgeous, healthy smiles through comprehensive dental care. But as much as the treatments we provide in our office are important to the health of your smile, equally important is how you care for your smile at home. Brushing and flossing are the cornerstones of oral hygiene, but they're far from the only aspect. And one surprising way you can keep your smile healthy is through the foods you eat.
Foods to Improve Your Smile
The foods we eat do more than affect our physical health: they impact the health of our teeth, as well. Some foods cause disproportionate damage to our teeth and dental enamel, while others can act to strengthen teeth and protect your healthy smile. In addition to brushing, flossing, and regular dental checkups, monitoring your diet is one important way to help care for your teeth – so here are a few easy foods that support dental health:
- Low-Fat Cheese: Dairy is great for teeth and bones all around, and low-fat cheeses, especially hard cheese, are particularly helpful. The calcium in the cheese will strengthen teeth, while eating dry, hard cheese can also help scrape off plaque and bacteria.
- Milk: In addition to containing tooth-strengthening calcium, studies have found that drinking milk helps neutralize the acids produced by bacteria, further fighting dental decay.
- Carrots & Apples: Hard fruits and vegetables like carrots or apples are naturally healthy and packed with water, and they have the added benefit of helping keep teeth clean. The hard, crunchy flesh acts almost like a toothbrush, scrubbing away plaque and bacteria.
- Cranberries: Cranberries contain polyphenols, which some studies show can help prevent bacteria from sticking to the teeth. Just make sure you're not drinking cranberry juice with added sugar, as this will have the opposite effect.
Contact Your Family Dentist
Eating foods like these is a great way to bolster dental health, and when combined with diligent oral hygiene habits like brushing and flossing, a tooth-friendly diet can help keep your smile healthy for years to come. Feel free to contact us if you have more questions about how diet can improve your dental health, and don't forget to check back to this blog for more tips on proper oral hygiene. We look forward to hearing from you, and we wish you luck in maintaining a diet that supports the health of your body and your smile!