5 Foods You Didn’t Know Are Bad for Your Oral Health

Maintaining optimal oral hygiene is crucial for your oral health and healthy smile. But being mindful of what you eat and drink is just as important.

The daily foods and drinks contribute significantly to our teeth’ health and appearance.

It’s no secret that soft drinks, lollies and ice cream are unsuitable for our teeth. But below, your dentist Leichhardt, will be sharing 5 unsuspecting foods that could compromise your oral health:

#1. Diet/Sugar-free Soft Drinks

We tend to think of diet soft drinks as a healthy option. Unfortunately, this is not the case – not for your overall health or oral health!

Soft drinks and their sugar-free counterparts both cause damage to our teeth, especially when consumed in significant amounts.

Phosphoric acid is known to restore heavy metals to their original lustre. It’s found in regular and diet soft drinks.

If it can break down layers of heavy metals, you can only imagine the destruction it can cause to the soft tooth enamel.

Consuming acidic drinks occasionally and having an excellent oral health hygiene routine is fine. But water, the healthiest choice of drink, should be your go-to beverage.

#2. Popcorn

We like settling for a Netflix binge with freshly popped popcorn. But it’s essential to know the damage that popcorn can do to your teeth and ensure you consume it cautiously for oral health.

Corn kernels are HARD. One hard bite can crack or chip your teeth! Their fine, shell-like layers also promote tooth decay because they become easily stuck between your gums and teeth.

Flossing after eating popcorn minimises the damage, and of course, be mindful of those rock-like kernels!

#3. Fruit

While fruit contains many nutrients we rely on to keep our immune systems fighting, it’s not all good news for oral health. Fruits carry acids and sugars in large amounts, which, if left to linger, can damage our tooth enamel.

The bacteria responsible for breaking down the tooth enamel is fuelled by the large amounts of sugars found in fruit. The acid in fruit has also been found to soften the enamel.

Considering our enamel does not regenerate, we need more attention to our oral health.

After each consumption, rinsing your mouth with water is a good way to enjoy fruits without damaging your teeth.

#4. Sour Lollies

It’s no surprise that lollies are bad for your teeth. But what can sometimes come as a surprise is that the sour ones are the worst!

The sour varieties contain acids that are harmful to oral health and come in large amounts.

Lollies are sticky, allowing their remnants to hang around in your mouth, fuelling the tooth decay fire.

At My Local Dentists Leichhardt, our dentists recommend eating a square of chocolate rather than lollies to satisfy your sweet cravings.

Being quicker to swallow and easily washed away with a rinse of water, it’s the better option for oral health.

#5. Bread and Starches

This one gets the ‘most surprising’ award. Bread and other foods high in starches, like pasta and rice, are not suspected of causing damage to your teeth, well, generally.

Unfortunately, they do! This is because our saliva breaks down simple carbohydrates into sugars while chewing, which can negatively impact oral health.

As we discussed, these sugars create a breeding ground for bacteria in our mouths. This leads to a faster rate of tooth decay.

Leaning towards whole-wheat and more complex carbohydrates like brown bread and sweet potatoes is a good way to prevent these harmful effects on oral health.

Optimum Oral Health in Leichhardt

My Local Dentist Leichhardt’s services and treatments are 100% personalised to you and your personal needs.

Alongside our dentists, the supporting staff at My Local Dentists Leichhardt are incredibly talented, dedicated, and experienced.

Working together, we ensure your visit is as pleasant as possible.

GAP FREE Promotion for New Patients

Prevention is essential to a beautiful and healthy smile, so we will do everything possible to minimise barriers to visiting the dentist.

To accomplish this, we do not require a gap fee from any health fund for preventative services such as your six-monthly check-up, scale and clean, check-up X-rays, intraoral photographs, tailored treatment plans, and fluoride treatments.

*for new patients only

Call us on (02) 9171 0840 or request your appointment online.

We are located at Shop 48, Leichhardt Marketplace Shopping Centre, 122-138 Flood Street in Leichhardt.