Brushing Too Hard or Too Often
This is what I got in trouble for. Turns out, what I thought was simply an effective cleaning was actually wearing down my tooth enamel and causing gum and cheek damage.
“Since brushing your teeth is a good thing, a lot of people think that more brushing must be even more of a good thing,” says Sue Gwerder, a dental hygienist. “Overly harsh or frequent brushing could make your gums recede and end up making your teeth more sensitive as they wear down.”
If your gums are sore or developing sensitive patches, or you notice them pulling away from your teeth, it’s probably time to invest in a soft bristle toothbrush and abide by the American Dental Association’s two-brush-a-day recommendation. Photo courtesy of oskay (cc)
Soft Drinks, Energy Drinks, Sports Drinks, and Sweetened Iced Tea
Not only is soda the leading source of added sugar in the diets of kids and teens, most soft drinks also contain phosphoric and citric acids, which—seeing a pattern yet?—erode our enamel. Other seemingly innocent liquid culprits include sports drinks, energy drinks, and sugary teas, whose sugar levels make them equally harmful. Photo courtesy of OiMax (cc)
Dried Fruit, Gummy Candy, and Chewy Treats
The timing matters with these sticky foods. Eat ’em too often and we could not only be packing on the pounds, but also preventing our mouths from using their built-in cleaning mechanisms that fight all this decay-inducing food. The American Dental Association advises that we limit between-meal snacks for this very reason.
When we eat those gummy bears as a mid-afternoon snack, acids continue to attack the teeth for twenty to thirty minutes following the last bear. If there are little lingerers hiding between the teeth, or we just keep eating, the healing process can’t keep up, since it will be interrupted by trying to break down whatever’s left in there. It’s only after our mouth has cleared everything out that saliva will start neutralizing the acid and get a rebalancing process going. Having a mouth constantly full of food means it won’t ever have enough of a chance to completely neutralize acid and repair teeth. Photo courtesy of c.flessen (cc)
Candy, Cookies, Cake, and Pie
Trite but true: eating too much candy will rot our teeth. (Alas, my mother was right.)
“When bacteria (plaque) comes into contact with sugar in the mouth, acid is produced, which attacks the teeth for twenty minutes or more. This can eventually result in tooth decay,” says the American Dental Association.
If we give in to the sweet craving, we should go for something that clears out of our mouths quickly (see above on the problem with sticky foods), meaning it’s a no-go on the chewy suckers and caramels. On the other hand—get ready for some good news here—chocolate is a better choice (in terms of teeth, at least) because the sugar it does contain is coated in fat, meaning it doesn’t linger in our mouth. Photo courtesy of scubadive67 (cc)
Every time we eat something in these categories, it kick-starts the mouth’s bacteria to start churning out acid and breaking down those pearly whites in the process. So those of us who just can’t resist sticky, sugary, starchy snacks should keep a few simple counteracting steps in mind. After finishing a starchy delight, rinse with water, toss in some gum, or brush with some fluoride toothpaste. (Unless you’ve already brushed twice, that is.) Cheese is good for counteracting acid (so you can always chase that pineapple with some cheddar), as are chicken, nuts, and fruits with high water content.
After seeing the foods we should cut back on, maybe we’ll all wish we were still blissfully ignorant. But if we limit the number of these foods, at least we won’t get lectured next time we go to the dentist.
Updated July 23, 2009
