Foods that cause tooth decay

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Vanaeyah Tran, DMD

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Foods that cause tooth decay

October 27, 2019

Foods that cause tooth decay

Hamilton Blvd driving westbound toward Mill Creek Rd intersection showing sunrise and fall foliage

It's that time of year again! The Fall into Winter seasons are upon us, and with them, all of our favorite foods! This blog topic is to educate and share advice on how to best care for your teeth and prevent tooth decay while still enjoying your favorite foods around this time of year.

I get these questions all of the time from my patients: What causes tooth decay? Or, "I'm brushing and flossing regularly, why am I still getting cavities?"

When it comes to tooth decay, it’s important to know the main culprit – acid. Acid is what eats

away at our enamel and causes cavities.

Acid can enter our mouths in one of two ways: either directly through what we eat (citrus fruits, or acidic foods

for example), or as a byproduct when oral bacteria consume the sugars/carbohydrates that we eat.

Ultimately, a simple way to identify foods that cause tooth decay is to ask whether it’s acidic or

sweet/starchy.

Acidic foods include things like citrus fruits, tomatoes, vinegar, kombucha and sour candy.

Sweet/starchy foods include things like candy, soda or sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit, bread,

cereal, pasta and crackers.

The longer these things interact with your teeth, the greater the chance for tooth decay to

occur.

For example, sipping on soda throughout the day, or chewing a gooey caramel treat, increases

the amount of sugar that coat your teeth. Bacteria love to feast on this sugar, creating an acidic

environment and putting your teeth at risk for decay.

The more frequently you snack or sip, the more exposure time to your teeth. It takes time for your saliva to buffer these acids to help protect your teeth from acid destruction/demineralization.

Foods That Cause Tooth Decay

To help protect your teeth against tooth decay:

- Reduce your consumption of sweets and refined starches

- Enjoy acidic foods in moderation or as part of a meal

- Decrease or eliminate your consumption of soda or sugar-sweetened beverages

- Swish with water after meals and snacks

- Maintain good oral hygiene to brush away plaque buildup (floss at least once a day

and brush twice a day)

So the take home message: go ahead and enjoy your Halloween candy, but eat it fast and rinse with water and brush afterwards (don't let any of the sugary candy linger around on your teeth).

And, as always, make sure to visit us regularly so we can remove tartar buildup and assess for

early signs of decay. Most problems are easier to treat when they are small.

We hope you found this blog post informative, and as always, would love to hear your feedback for how to improve ourselves for your benefit. Please always feel free to use our office as your resource for all of your dental related questions and concerns.

Any topics you would like to hear more about, please give us your feedback for future blog posts! Please like and follow our social media accounts to stay informed of updates from our team and giveaways! We do a monthly gift card drawing for all of our active patients who support Nurture Dental Health.

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Thanks for stopping by our blog page!

Let our family care for your family. Stay informed, stay nurtured!

-Vanaeyah Tran, DMD, co-owner of the practice Nurture Dental Health and Dentist

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