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Foods to Avoid for Oral Health

You probably know that brushing, flossing, and visiting the dentist regularly are all important parts of keeping your mouth healthy. But your diet has more of an impact on your oral health than you may realize. Dr. Jessica Christy of Orchard Hill Dental, a dentist in Hendersonville, NC, mentions some foods to avoid or limit in the interest of your oral health.general dentist in hendersonville, north carolina

Hard Candy

Chewy candy is known to be harmful and gets stuck in your teeth. But hard candy isn’t a suitable substitute for your sweet tooth. Hard candy may not get stuck in between teeth, but it releases sugar into your mouth the entire time it’s dissolving. Harmful oral bacteria feeds off of the sugar, emitting an acidic byproduct that can eat through the tooth enamel. This leads to problems with tooth decay and other issues.

Hard candy has additional issues as well. There’s a chance it can lead to a dental emergency. If you bite down on hard candy before it’s dissolved enough or you bite at the wrong angle, you run the risk of cracking or chipping your tooth. If you’re lucky, it’ll just be a small cosmetic issue. But if a large problem occurs, you’ll need to get it taken care of right away.

Dried Fruit

Fruit is typically a good solution to satisfy your sweet tooth — if it’s fresh. Dried fruit often ends up having a sticky consistency that’s similar to that of chewy candy. Throughout the drying process, fruit also becomes more concentrated with sugar and loses valuable nutrients. At this point, dried fruit doesn’t really have any more benefits than chewy candy.

Ice

Water is one of the best things for your oral health when it’s in its liquid form. Its solid form comes with some issues. A habit of chewing ice increases how quickly your teeth wear down. It also carries the same problems as hard candy. If you bite down at the wrong time or wrong angle, you could find yourself in our office for emergency dentistry.

Crackers and Chips

When you’re eating salty snacks, the sugar content probably isn’t something you think about. But both of these are starches and they break down into sugars while they’re being chewed and digested. Chips splinter and pieces get stuck between the teeth while crackers turn into a paste that settles in the crevices of your molars. After snacking on these, be sure to drink lots of water afterward.

Coffee and Tea

These beverages alone aren’t extremely terrible for your teeth, aside from causing staining with prolonged use. Teeth whitening can usually take care of that. But many of our coffees and teas are now loaded with sugar and sugary syrup flavors. Regularly consuming beverages filled with sugar is a bad recipe for your teeth.

Visit Your Hendersonville, North Carolina Dentist

A visit to our office can help ensure that your diet isn’t ruining your smile. Call us or schedule an appointment online.