Everything in Moderation - Balancing Good & Bad-For-You Foods

The month of June is designated as both National Candy Month and National Fresh Fruit & Vegetable Month. One of these "celebrations" can be great for your dental care routine and the other, well, not so much. Today Access Dental & Dentures has a few tips that will allow you to enjoy the best of both worlds with a little self-control, moderation, and the help of our knowledgable dentists in Southern Missouri.

How Sugar Reacts Inside a Mouth
Eating too many foods with a high level of sugar, like candy, can have a very negative effect on your dental health. The bacteria in your mouth feed on the sugar that you eat. Once this bacteria feeds off sugar, it breaks down into acids that eat away at the enamel protecting your teeth. The longer sugar is in the mouth, the more the bacteria break down and eat away at the tooth enamel. Crevices in teeth where sticky, sugary candy can hide are usually the most prone to having an issue caused by the bacteria eroding the protective layer on the teeth.

How to Avoid Cavities From Sugar

When the process explained above begins, cavities are inevitable if you don't make every effort to clean that sugar out of your mouth as soon as possible. First and foremost, regulate your sugar intake. Not only is too much sugar bad for your mouth but it's bad for the rest of your body too. 

Next, always brush at least twice a day and floss at least once daily. If you can brush your teeth after every meal, especially after eating candy, even better. When you are not able to brush right away, rinsing your mouth out with water and drinking lots of water while you eat can help rinse off some of the bacteria left behind. 

Finally, don't miss your regular dental checkups so that the professionals at our dentist offices in Southern Missouri can deep-clean your teeth and check for any cavities that may have already formed. The quicker you get those fixed, the easier and much less painful they will be.  

Substitute Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

Substituting yummy berries and melons for dessert is a tasty solution a lot of the time but remember that some of these can have a high amount of natural sugars. Those can harm your teeth much like candy. You will still need to brush and floss as usual to protect your mouth but the vitamins and minerals your body will receive make fruit a much better alternative to candy. 

Vegetables can be harder to sell as a snack than fruit, especially to children. Not only are these good-for-your-body foods full of nutrients but the texture of crunchy vegetables can even help to scrape some bad bacteria off of your teeth.  

Make Healthy Eating Fun

Presentation is everything! For adults, a platter full of colorful fruits and vegetables is so beautiful it makes you want to dig right in. For kids, make a smiley face or cute little creature out of their fruits and veggies. There are tutorials all over the internet with clever and simple ideas for how to do this. 

Hot summer days are on the way and you can easily substitute sugary ice cream bars and popsicles with frozen yogurt bars. If you make them at home, you can even add in some of your favorite chopped up or pureed fruits.

Smoothies are all mixed up into a drinkable liquid form which makes them the perfect healthy snack to sneak in a few leafy greens. You get nutrients from foods you may not necessarily enjoy on their own but the right recipe can mask that flavor with another food you do enjoy. 

You don't have to avoid candy completely for a cavity-free life. Just make sure to limit your intake of sugary foods and always practice a good oral hygiene routine to limit the bad effects that candy may have on your teeth. Work as many fresh fruits and vegetables into your diet as you can to curve those candy cravings. Also, don't miss your dental checkups in Southern Missouri. If any problems do arise with your teeth, this is when the experts at Access Dental & Dentures will find them and do what is necessary to get your mouth back to its healthy best. 

We want to be your dentist because your family deserves a great smile! 

1-877-DENTIST

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Connect with us on LinkedIn

Springfield Office          Rolla Office             Osage Beach Office

(417) 501-1048              (573) 426-5447          (573) 348-1466         

1701 West Sunshine        416 S. Bishop Ave.   4320 Osage Beach Pkwy

Springfield, MO 65807   Rolla, MO 65401      Osage Beach, MO. 65065

Mountain Grove Office              Aurora Office

(417) 926-1160                             (417) 308-3534

921-A N. Main                             1402 S. Elliott

Mountain Grove, MO 65711       Aurora, MO 65605