When’s the last time you thought about how what you eat is affecting your oral health? Most people tend to think of nutrition and its impact on the body as a whole. Sure, there is nothing wrong with this mentality.
However, we bring up the issue because believe it or not, your mouth – specifically your teeth – are the first part of the body to be noticeably affected when something is out of line (not properly nourished).
It’s Not Just Brushing and Flossing…
Most of us have probably encountered a cavity or two at least some point in our lives. And most of us have probably questioned the reason as to why we had a cavity in the first place. Most dentists will tell you that a cavity formed on your tooth probably because you weren’t brushing and flossing enough. In other words, they tell you were slacking in the oral hygiene department.
Great, so you work towards fixing this. After 6 months, you go in again and receive a check-up. They tell you another cavity is present and must be filled. You just spent 6 months staying on top of your routine and have yet another cavity? How could that be possible?
Nutrition. What have you been putting into your body? What does your diet consist of?
Don’t Overlook Nutrition!
Again, we want to stress the importance of nutrition and its impact on not just your body, but your teeth as well! If you ever find yourself with unexplained tooth decay or oral problems in general, then it would be a great time to look into your nutritional habits and see if that could be your underlying issue because chances are – it is.
We’ll be honest with you; it’s very difficult to “eat right”. The costs involved, time involved, it all adds up and makes the dollar menu fast food options that much more enticing. However, think of it as a long-term investment for yourself – on top of the fact that you won’t feel as sluggish performing day-to-day activities (i.e work)!
What Should I Be Eating?
Next time you’re in the store buying food or ingredients, analyze the label. If there’s a long list, that’s strike #1. If there are ingredients you’ve never seen or heard of, that’s strike #2. If you can’t even pronounce the ingredient, strike #3. That’s out.
You want to eat a balanced diet consisting of major food groups (no isolating any of these groups either) and select foods that are as wholesome as possible.
Fruits– nature’s candy, but don’t go overboard here.
Vegetables – Mom was right… eat your veggies!
Whole Grains – i.e. oatmeal, brown rice.
Protein – the leaner, the better.
And by wholesome we mean organic, no added sugars or chemicals, preservatives, and typically do not have a long list of ingredients.
There’s nothing really special about it. The hard part is documenting precisely what you’re consuming and then analyzing its effect on your body through trial and error over a long period of time.
At BioDental Healing, we strive to look beyond the traditional means of diagnosing causes of tooth decay. Our holistic dentist, Dr. David Villarreal offers nutrition counseling as part of his holistic dental practice because we approach dentistry with the body, mind, and soul involved.
