healthy diet

At Barden Orthodontics we love beautiful, healthy smiles. A healthy diet that includes plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables is an important part of ensuring the health of your teeth. The U.S.D.A. recommends that half of your lunch and dinner plate should be filled with fruits and vegetables.

A healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables can provide good energy levels, strengthen your immune system, support children’s growth, and a healthy weight. Fruits and vegetables are also packed with vitamins and minerals that are important for healthy teeth. In contrast, a diet with lots of sugary foods and drinks can damage your teeth and result in cavities.

Some food and drink choices to keep your teeth healthy:

• Water is a healthy choice to drink between meals. Water with fluoride (most tap water!) can help to strengthen your teeth. Water can also help to dilute sugar and rinse your mouth of food from your snacks.
• Fruits and vegetables are healthy food choices for snacks and meals.
• Foods high in calcium are great for growing bones and strong teeth. Consider snacking on a cheese stick or plain yogurt that is topped with fresh berries or slices of bananas.
• Limit snacking throughout the day.
• Are you packing your child’s lunch or a school snack? Remember they probably do not brush their teeth during the school day. Pack healthy, lower sugar snacks and save the treats for home or special times.

Avoid:

• Avoid foods and drinks that are high in sugar. This includes soda, sports drinks, flavored water, and even juice (there is sugar in juice!)
• Sticky foods are especially problematic as they can stick to your teeth and prolong the sugar attack. This includes “fruit snacks,” that are really candy in disguise.

If you have braces:

• Be sure to cut hard fruits and vegetables into bite size pieces, or cook until soft, to prevent damage to your braces.
• Avoid sticky foods that can damage your orthodontic appliances.

Remember: proper brushing, flossing, and using a fluoride rinse are important to keep teeth clean after eating! Ask Dr. Douglas Barden and his staff if you have any questions about foods you should, and should not, eat while in braces.

Did you know that the most common oral health diseases are tooth decay and gum disease? Not so coincidentally, they are also the easiest to prevent. As much as we would like for the brushing and flossing to do all the work for us, in reality, we really are what we eat — and a healthy diet is just as important for dental health as it is for the rest of the body.

Eating well boosts your immune system, and makes you less susceptible to gum disease and tooth decay. When you maintain a balanced diet, you provide your body with all the nutrients it needs to succeed. So what does a healthy, balanced diet entail? It’s really quite simple. Here are some tips:

1. Focus on lean meats, veggies, whole grains, and healthy fats. Healthy food = Healthy teeth!
2. Limit your intake of sugary drinks like energy drinks and soda. Healthy beverages are important!
3. Keep your sweet tooth in check.
4. Beware of acidic meals and snacks that are high in salt and sodium.
5. Drink lots of water.

Unfortunately, there’s no “one size fits all,” magic diet that will automatically improve your oral health, but following the five guidelines above as best you can is a great way to start. Food and drinks that are high in sugar or acidity weaken your enamel, stain your teeth, and make you more likely to develop a cavity or gum disease.

At Barden Orthodontics, we like to encourage our patients to drink a lot of water during the day. Doing so not only keeps you hydrated, but also helps rinse out the sugar and acid from various things you’ve consumed during the day.

If you think your diet might be affecting your smile, come pay Dr. Douglas Barden a visit or give our Milwaukee, WI office a call! We’re always happy to answer your questions.