Your Diet and Oral Health

When you think of your diet, you most likely think of how what you choose to eat affects the numbers on the scale, how your clothes fit, and how comfortable you feel in a bathing suit. However, there is another aspect to your diet that is incredibly important for you to pay attention to. How your diet affects your oral health is vital for you to think about because you only get one set of permanent teeth in your lifetime.

The entire body is a complex machine that works together and is affected by all of its parts. If you have ever broken a toe, you understand how just one small part of the body can affect how well (and how comfortably) you move around until it is healed.

The mouth is one of the most neglected parts of the body simply because most people do not realize how intricately it relates to the body as a whole. The foods that you allow to enter into your mouth affect more than your weight. Tooth decay is the single most common chronic illness in children, and it affects millions of adults in America each year. This chronic illness is entirely preventable with good oral hygiene habits at home and a healthy diet.

The mouth is home to millions of bacteria that thrive off of the foods that you eat. These bacteria are drawn to the food particles that are left behind in the mouth after you eat and drink any beverage other than water. As these bacteria work to break down food particles, they begin to produce acids to assist them. These acids are what lead to cavities and gum disease, and the more acids you have inside your mouth the more damage is done. The bacteria inside the mouth are the most attracted to sugars in the foods that you eat. A diet that is heavy in sugar will be a mouth that is abundant in damaging acids. By maintaining a healthy diet, you are protecting your mouth from destruction – and you are protecting your general health because, remember, the body works as a whole. Heart disease, kidney failure, diabetes, miscarriage, and preterm labor are all directly associated with poor oral health.

At Crabapple Dental, we want to help you achieve and maintain the healthiest mouth possible. We understand the relationship between your diet and your oral health. While it is fine to indulge in a decadent dessert occasionally, by making healthy choices day in and day out, you will protect your mouth, and your entire body, from harm.