How to use nutrition to look after your teeth

When you think of nutrition, eating right and being healthy you might think of veggies, green smoothies, meal prepping and coming along to classes at the studio. But do you think of your teeth?

There are a lot of links between healthy teeth and being healthy. And having healthy teeth can be helped by a number of things including dental hygiene of course but also what you eat, how you eat and when you eat.

To learn all things teeth, gums, mouth health and food has to do with it we sat down with dental hygienist, Chelsea Scott from Dental Associates in Essendon Fields (Melbourne). I must say I didn’t know a lot about the ins and outs of teeth and mouths but Chelsea made it super easy to understand and I don’t think I will ever meet anyone as passionate about mouth health than her. So here is everything we learned!

The mouth is the portal to our body and inside your mouth there is a lot happening. And usually what’s happening in there is a huge indication of what’s happening in your whole body. If your body is unhealthy then your mouth tends to follow and if your mouth is unhealthy then it’s going to have a flow on effect throughout your body. An unhealthy mouth has the ability to cause pain, inflammation and affect the body’s immune system. On the flip side having a healthy mouth can help reduce inflammation in the body, improve the body’s immune system, reduce pain and better the overall health of a person. So as you can see it’s kind of important to take care of not just out pearly whites but the whole mouth.

Plaque constantly forms on our teeth, and with it comes bacteria. If this bacteria is not dealt with (with brushing, flossing etc.) our gums can become inflamed leading to inflammation hanging around in our mouths and in our body. This can then cause bleeding gums, which can then put bacteria into our blood stream, as well as having the ability to cause damage to everything around the teeth. Hence brushing and flossing is essential!

So what does nutrition have to do with taking care of your teeth and having a healthy mouth? In short, everything.

What you put in your mouth is going affect your teeth in some way. No doubt you have heard that sugars are on the list of damaging items, but particularly acidic sugary drinks such as sports drinks. Second on the list is lollies and dried fruit. But there will be times you have a sugary drink or a stash of lollies, and there are a few things you can do to still protect those teeth. First of all don’t spread it out over time, it’s better to have your stash or your drink quickly and move on. Having them over a long period of time means teeth keep losing minerals and the saliva in your mouth doesn’t have the chance to repair, which can then cause teeth decay. Rinse your mouth with water after can also help protect teeth. But probably most importantly, always give your mouth a break between all meals and snacks. Your mouth needs a few hours to repair completely so it is best to eat then wait 2-3 hours until eating again (this includes drinks other than water). This is also beneficial from a nutrition perspective, as this will help with your body having the time to recognise when it is full and when it is hungry a well as helping to boost your metabolism.

But it’s not all how to eat differently to protect your teeth, there are also certain nutrients that can help keep teeth strong and mouths healthy.

Calcium is a well-known friend to teeth. In particular dairy foods such as cheese and milk have shown to assist in preventative mouth health thanks to their make-up of calcium, casein (a protein) and phosphorus. For those who don’t have dairy products on their shopping lists, then try calcium rich foods such as leafy green vegetables (broccoli, bok choy and spinach), soy, tofu, salmon, brazil nuts and almonds.

Casein proteins can be a little harder to come by however if you are on a non-dairy diet as plant based milk alternatives such as almond, soy and coconut do not contain casein. However you can still get your fix of phosphorus from soy products, beans, lentils, chickpeas and nuts. Getting enough Vitamin K (green leafy vegetables, soybeans, pine nuts, blueberries, lettuce) to your day is also beneficial thanks to it’s ability to help spread calcium around through the body.

But remember, while healthy nutrition habits can be beneficial to healthy mouths and teeth it will never take from the importance of flossing, brushing and visiting your dentist for regular check-ups and cleans.

A big thank you to Chelsea for her time and for imparting all of her knowledge on how to keep those pearly whites healthy!