Foods for healthy teeth

Most everyone knows that brushing your teeth regularly and flossing is a great way to boost dental hygiene and get rid of sugars and food particles that cause bacteria to form plaque.  Plaque actually creates acid that builds up and is the reasons we get damage to our tooth enamel. This in tern then causes cavities, and sets the preverbal stage for the dreaded gum disease.  So what are some extra steps we can take to help our mouth take care of itself.  There are lots of good foods that research has suggested can help aid us in this task.

One great way to help keep your mouth healthy is to drink tea.  Teas especially black and green teas are loaded with polyphenols which can help slow the growth of bacteria.  This in term helps slow the creation of cavities and gum disease.  So taking the time to boil some water and drop in a bag of tea can be more than just a yummy treat.  It can actually help your health.  Now days it is much easier then boiling water on the kettle.  There are electric kettles that can boil water in seconds not minutes and get your right on the healthy path super fast!  It is shown that rinsing your mouth with black tea for I minutes 10 times a day had less plaque buildup on their teeth then people who just rinsed with water. This was according to the University of Illinois.  It also reduced the plaque that they already had and made it easier to brush off.  So drinking a cup of tea can be a very big boost to your dental health.

Another food that can help your dental health is rather surprising.  Its cheese! A study done by General Dentistry journal found that teenagers who eat cheddar cheese ended up with less acid levels in their mouth than those who ate yogurt or drank milk.  After the test each teen would rinse their mouths with water and then measured at different intervals.  The cheese was found to lower acid and neutralize plaque acid.  So the next time you are at the grocery store, yes practice social distancing but also pick up a brick or a package of cheddar cheese.  Chewing a little bit of this can really help bring those acid levels down and keep you from visiting the dentists nearly as much.  So stay safe, eat healthy foods and keep your dental hygiene up!