Oral Healht and Nutrition

How should we eat for our dental health?

Foods that are considered harmful for dental health are sugary and acidic foods and substances that stick to the teeth and are not easily cleaned. It is not necessary to cut them off completely, but to consume them in a certain order is adviced to prevent tooth decay.

Recommended diet for dental health

• Sugary, sticky or acidic food should be consumed in three main meals.
• In between meals, hard food such as apples and carrots should be eaten to clean the teeth and massage the gums.
• If it is not possible to brush the teeth after eating sugary, sticky food, the mouth should be rinsed with water or a glass of water should be drunk.
• A piece of cheese taken into the mouth after eating a sugary food is extremely important in terms of eliminating the rotting effect of sugar.

Is tooth decay more common than before?

Yes. Especially in developing countries like ours, tooth decay is more common than before. This is because eating habits have changed. Since ancient people ate hard foods, teeth were cleaned naturally. Today, with the development of the ready-made food industry, the consumption of such food has increased as a matter of fact. Since these easy to get at all times food products such as biscuits, sugar, chocolate, cola are substances that stick to the teeth and create acid, they are considered as the main responsible for the increase of tooth decay today.

What are the foods that we can consider as tooth-friendly?

Proteins are the leading food that are considered tooth-friendly. These substances, which are the basic building blocks of our body, are foods that must be consumed both during the development of the teeth and for dental health after the teeth are erupted.

In addition to its high protein content, cheese is highly recommended especially after consumption of sugary food, in terms of its importance in dental health.

Due to its phosphate content peanut is also considered tooth-friendly among snack foods.

Unrefined cereals (whole wheat brown bread instead of white bread) should be preferred for dental health.

* Article is taken from TDB (Turkish Dental Association).