We all should want to lead healthy lifestyles. Looking great and feeling great helps you get so much more out of life. But sometimes in an effort to be healthier, you might do something that actually damages your health. For instance, running is great exercise, but it’s hard on your knees. Lifting weights builds strength, but it is easy to injure yourself if you don’t know what you’re doing. Crunches might tones those abs, but they are murder on your back.

The same goes for the food you eat. You might be surprised to find out that some of the foods you are eating for their health value may be damaging your teeth. Here at Plano Smile Studio we want to make sure you are keeping healthy without damaging your smile. In addition to a healthy oral hygiene routine and regular visits to our office in Plano, TX, consider limiting your consumption of these foods that may be hurting your smile.

Dried Fruits

Raisins are nature’s candy, but just like regular candy, they are bad for your teeth. Even though the sugar in raisins is natural, it is still sugar. The bacteria that feeds on sugar doesn’t care where the sugar came from. It just wants to eat. This bacteria will turn the sugar into acid that eats away at your teeth and causes decay.

Dried fruit is sticky, so that means it’s hard to get the sugar off your teeth. Your saliva does a pretty good job of keeping your mouth clean, but sticky sugars like the ones that come with dried fruit are hard to get off your teeth.

Citrus

Fruits like oranges and grapefruits are loaded with Vitamin C, which helps boost your immune system. However, they are also loaded with acid, which is bad for your teeth, specifically your enamel. Enamel is the hard shell of your tooth that projects the inside. Citric acid, like the type found in oranges, weakens the enamel, and puts your tooth at risk for decay.

One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to brush your teeth directly after eating citrus. The acid has weaken the enamel, so brushing could actually strip it away. Wait a while before you brush, so your enamel has a chance to harden back up.

Also remember that citrus fruits also contain sugar, so they offer double the trouble when it comes to tooth decay.

Red Wine

A glass of red wine a day may help guard against heart disease, but it can also stain your teeth. If you’ve ever spilt a glass of pinot noir onto a white tablecloth, you know how devastating the effects can be. Now image that tablecloth is your teeth, and you can see the risk red wine poses to your smile.

Nuts and Popcorn

You want to stop snacking away on chips and pretzels, but you have to eat something. So, you start munching on nuts and popcorn, low salt, of course. This is great except that these snacks are hard and can crack your teeth.

A tooth fracture, even a small one, can cause lots of damage, so make sure you are careful to avoid the kernels when eating popcorn, and definitely don’t try to crack a nut with your teeth.

Protect Your Smile

It is important to realize that you do not have to totally cut these foods out of your diet, but you need to eat them in moderation. Drinking plenty of water along with them will help dilute the staining power of dark liquids, as well as wash away sticky bacteria.

And don’t forget to make regular visits to Plano Smile Studio for check-ups and cleanings!

We Can Help

If eating healthily has already taken its toll on your teeth, then Plano Smile Studio can help you get your smile back into shape.
We can whiten stained teeth.

We can repair chipped teeth with porcelain veneers.

If necessary, we can replace a tooth with quality dental implants.

Don’t wait. Contact us today and make sure your smile stays as healthy as the rest of you.