5 Foods to Avoid & 5 to Eat for Best Dental Health

As your Cincinnati family dentist, we probably don’t need to tell you that you should limit your intake of candy and soda. You know these foods are high in sugar and can lead to plaque and cavities.

But there are many other foods you probably don’t think can be very bad for your teeth — like bread, fruit juice, and apples. Here are five foods you should limit, and five foods you should eat instead so you and your family enjoy great dental health.

5 Foods You Should Avoid

• Bread: Starches in bread break down into sticky sugars, and bacteria loves sugar. Once digested, bacteria release acid that erodes enamel and contributes to cavities. Avoid breads with added sweeteners.
• Jelly or Jam: It tastes so sweet because jelly or jam tends to be loaded with sugar and other sweeteners. Even all fruit brands contain natural sugars. Limit your intake.
• Popcorn: By its very nature, popcorn and its hulls get stuck in our teeth or even under the gum line. Especially when loaded with butter and other sweeteners, it tends to be really hard on teeth. Consider rinsing and flossing after you’ve eaten some. Biting down on partially or unpopped kernels can even crack a tooth or damage dental work.
• Diet Soda: You probably know that regular soda is high in sugar and horrible for your teeth, but diet soda doesn’t get you off the hook. It’s still high in acidity, which weakens enamel.
• Salad Dressing: Salad is good for you — but salad dressing? Not so much. Most are high in sugar for added flavor. Be mindful of how sweet your dressing is. We’re not saying eat a dry salad, but limit how much you use and stick to brands that don’t use added sweeteners. You should also stay away from strong vinegar dressings, which change the pH of your mouth and put your teeth at risk for erosion.

5 Foods You Should Eat Instead

• Black & Green Teas: Loaded with compounds called polyphenols, black and green teas help slow the growth of bacteria associated with cavities and gum disease. Drinking these teas can lessen the buildup of plaque.
• Raisins: Naturally sweet, raisins don’t contain sucrose or table sugar, which can cause cavities. Raisins are also a great source of phytochemicals, which may kill cavity-causing plaque bacteria and help fight gum disease.
• Sugar-free Gum: Sugar-free is key here because regular gum will have the opposite effect. Chewing sugar-free gum increases the body’s production of saliva, which naturally rinses the teeth and gums to wash away the bacteria that cause plaque and cavities.
• Milk: It’s a good idea to wash that slice of chocolate cake or pie with a nice cold glass of milk! Because it contains acid-neutralizing enzymes, milk can reduce your risk of plaque and cavities. But adding milk to sugary cereals doesn’t offer the same benefit. It absorbs the sugars and becomes sticky, which sticks to teeth and has the opposite effect.
• Cheese, Almonds, Salads: Foods that are high in calcium are great for teeth. The calcium will help keep your teeth enamel strong and healthy. These foods can redeposit calcium into cracks and tiny openings in your teeth caused by acidic and sugary foods.