Daily brushing, regular flossing, and frequent trips to the dentist – these are crucial for maintaining healthy teeth. Another key aspect of proper dental hygiene is recognizing those “Dental Villains.” These foods & drinks are particularly tough on teeth. By avoiding or restricting these items, you’ll avoid minor nuisances that can turn into major problems.
Dr. Dental presents the following handful of cavity-creating, enamel-extinguishing, smile-staining Dental Villains. If dental offices had wanted posters, these bad guys would be the first five on the list.
- Fruit Juices
Don’t let the healthy-sounding name fool you. The typical fruit juice contains plenty of processed sugar, high fructose corn syrup and other adverse ingredients. Instead of gulping processed fruit juice, it’s better to eat whole fruit instead. The fruit itself is much more filling and also has essential nutrients, vitamins and fiber.
- Coffee & Tea
America’s favorite morning and afternoon beverages, coffee & tea have a compounds called tannins, which cause unsightly stains and discoloring. Generally speaking, the darker the beverage, the greater chance of staining your teeth. Is there anything darker than coffee & tea? Well, if oil was a beverage (and thankfully it isn’t), think about what your teeth would look like. Yuck!
- Refined Carbohydrates
It’s hard to avoid flour-based, white starchy food. The standard American diet has a fitting acronym: SAD. And because processed carbs comprise a large proportion of our intake, it’s no wonder this dental villain is everywhere. Refined carbohydrates are correlated with increased inflammation, which in turn causes complications like gingivitis, periodontists. Call it the dental villain domino effect.
- Wine
Wine, as the saying goes, gets better with age. But this dental villain also makes your teeth age faster. With a high acidic content, wine starts to work on your teeth’s enamel almost immediately. Plus, this popular beverage also stains teeth and can dry your mouth.
- Sticky, Sugary Candy
Food texture can create problems for teeth, and this is especially true for things like toffee and bubble gum. Sticky substances find their way between teeth and along the gum line. Soon afterwards, bacteria in your mouth interacts with the sugars to weaken enamel. This one is the Jesse James / Billy the Kid / Butch Cassidy of dental villains, all rolled into one.