5 Foods You Will Never See Your Dentist Eating.

Getting our biannual check-up isn’t exactly our idea of fun, but the mere unpleasantries of a poke and a scrape from a routine dental cleaning are nothing compared to the severe discomfort of intense dental surgery. So how about we lower the chances of those uncomfortable dentist visits by cutting out or limiting some of the naughty foods below?

If a dentist won’t eat them, neither should you! 

White Bread

Most of us are aware that white bread isn’t good for us, but did you know that it can lead to tooth erosion? When we eat bread, the simple sugars quickly dissolve inside the mouth, causing a surge of acid that erodes tooth enamel. And don’t forget the bits of bread that get trapped in between your teeth and gums where the acid-producing bacteria can have a field day! 

Pasta sauce

“What’s so bad about pasta sauce,” we hear you ask. Most pasta sauce is, in fact, packed full of sugar. A single cup of pasta sauce (245g) contains a whopping 16 grams of sugar (4 tablespoons). Also, red pasta sauce is especially staining on the teeth because your porous tooth enamel easily absorbs the coloring. The acidity from the tomatoes can also weaken the teeth.

We recommend making your own sauce from scratch. And it’s also way more fun!

For other surprising foods with hidden sugars, check out our article ‘6 surprisingly sugary foods’.

Dried fruit

As we discussed in our last article ‘3 dangers of eating dried fruit’, although some may consider dried fruits a healthy snack, they too are packed full of sugar – 5 tablespoons per serving in fact! They also get stuck in the crevices of your teeth which extends the time your teeth are exposed to sugar, making them more prone to decay. 

If you’re feeling like something sweet and fruity, fresh fruit is a much better option. 

Chewy sweets and hard candies

Seems like a no brainer right?! But there really is nothing worse for your teeth than chewy sweets and hard candy! And you’d be hard pushed to find a dentist who eats them. They are extremely detrimental to your teeth and lead to complete destruction of your tooth enamel. In fact, many people have reported that at some point in their lives, chewing on a chewy sweet has pulled a tooth out. The tooth-destroying acids from candy can also cause a build-up of plaque, not to mention holes in your teeth. 

And if you’re biting on a hard-boiled candy, there is a chance you will break or crack your teeth or existing fillings. 

If you need to satisfy that sweet tooth, dark chocolate is a far better option as it is softer on the teeth with a lot less sugar content. 

Popcorn

We know it’s everyone’s favorite cinema snack but when popcorn gets wedged in between your teeth, it’s a breeding ground for bacteria. And actually, eating popcorn poses a double threat to your teeth. The hard kernels of corn lurking near the bottom of your popcorn bag are so hard that they can seriously damage your tooth enamel. 

Famous cosmetic dentist Bill Dorfman says,

“When it gets to the bottom of the bag, people don’t realize that biting on kernels can break your teeth,”

so a lot of the time we are unprepared when we crunch down hard on those tooth-damaging kernels! So try and remember to chew gently.

Get your teeth and gums back on track

Let’s face it. We all like to have our cheat days and overindulge in all our favorite treats every now and again. Life is about balance after all. As with all our articles, it’s about making you aware of what you’re eating and what it does to your oral health. But if you’ve enjoyed any of the above foods more often than not, don’t panic! There is a way to save your teeth and gums! 

Our all-natural tooth and gum powder is jam-packed with ingredients that help massively with the breakdown of plaque and provides critical minerals essential for building strong tooth enamel and keeping your gums healthy.

Good-Gums contains none of the toxic ingredients that are present in conventional kinds of toothpaste, such as SLS and fluoride, that interfere with natural healing.

Click here to give our herbal tooth and gum formula a try!

Remember, what’s good for your gums is good for you!