As we aspire to achieve a life of general good health and wellness let us not forget our mouths as part of the big picture. 

You often hear that eating a well-balanced diet reduces your risk of things like heart disease and diabetes.

Eating a healthy diet is also good for helping you avoid cavities and gum disease. In order for your mouth   to be healthy, it needs vitamins, protein, calcium and phosphorous – and you can get all of these from a healthy diet.

Certain eating patterns and food and drink choices can lead to tooth erosion, cavities and put you at risk for gum disease.

When you do not remove plaque from your teeth every day, it builds up. The bacteria in plaque create acid from eating sugar. This acid then attacks enamel of our teeth. The acid stays on the enamel for up to 20 minutes after you are finished eating and drinking.  Eventually, your enamel can break down or wear away from these acids and cavities start to form. The bacteria in plaque can also effect the gums around the teeth, especially between the teeth.

That is why it is important to brush and FLOSS in order to remove this  bacteria and prevent inflammation.

When you have sugary foods or drinks many times a day it exposes the enamel of your teeth to acid attacks throughout the day. This raises your risk of tooth erosion, cavities and possible gum disease.

Making healthy food and drink choices can help keep your mouth healthy which in turn can contribute to your overall wellness.

Some simple steps you can follow:

• Eat foods that are low in saturated fats, trans fats, cholesterol and salt (sodium)
• Avoid foods and drinks high in sugar, which increases the risk for dental problems like cavities.

These include drinks such as soda, sports drinks, flavored waters, or even 100 % fruit juices.

• Limit snacking throughout the day. If you do snack, make healthy choices like fruit, nuts or cheese. Eat sweets with meals instead of as snacks. Saliva increases during meals, which helps weaken acid and rinse bits of food from your mouth.
• Drink water with fluoride between meals, which helps your overall health. Also drink water after eating to help wash away food particles
• Chew sugarless gum. Chewing gum after meals increases saliva and can help reduce cavities. 

A healthy diet includes the right amounts and variety of 

• whole fruits and vegetables
• whole grains like brown rice and oatmeal
• proteins like meats, beans, eggs, poultry and fish
• healthy fats like nuts
• calcium-rich foods like Greek yogurt, cheese and milk

Natural Sugars and Whole Foods

Many foods and drinks – like apples, oranges, bananas, carrots and milk – naturally contain sugars and also have vitamins, minerals and nutrients that your body needs to be healthy. To lower your risk of cavities, avoid foods – like candy and cookies – that contain a lot of sugar but few other nutrients. These foods and others like pretzels, chips, gold fish are also very sticky and can get caught in between teeth especially if we are not brushing and flossing regularly. Overtime this also contributes to the beginning of gum disease and inflammation.