Dental decay is the most common form of disease known to mankind. It is a known fact that any food that contains carbohydrates, when left in contact with teeth for a prolonged period of time, can cause cavities. The normal micro organisms present in the mouth produce acid through fermentation of the carbohydrate. Unfortunately, we see this happen often. As a practicing dentist, I routinely advise my patients to maintain a healthy diet to prevent such problems.

It is important to remember that altering the diet alone cannot guarantee good oral health. But diet does make a difference when it comes to oral health.

The Dos and Don’ts

Food that contains too much sugar, like candy, leads to acid formation. That, in turn, causes cavities. Repeated exposure to such food can be just as bad as prolonged exposure. Sticky food, chips and taffy, can stay stuck to the teeth and be equally bad. The need for brushing teeth after every meal cannot be emphasized enough. Have children brush their teeth right away after they have candy. Flossing on a daily basis provides extra protection for the hard-to-reach surfaces.

Frequent snacking between meals should be avoided. Diets that contain too much acid can cause damage to the tooth structure. Even healthy foods, like milk and orange juice, contain a lot of acid. Soda or any other carbonated drink can be caustic. Also, when combined with the water in the saliva, these carbonated drinks produce carbonic acid. Both forms can cause chemical erosion and a breach in the enamel layer of teeth.

How to Combat Acid

Don’t let any of the acidic food to stay in your mouth for long. Rinse out your mouth immediately. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to neutralize any acid that might be produced in the mouth. Remember, there is no significant difference between the harmful effects of regular soda and diet soda. The difference between the two is only in the amount of calories and not in the degree of damage to the teeth.

Hard food

If you chew a lot of hard foods, like pretzels or ice, you may develop symptoms consistent with teeth grinding. Chewing too hard may also crack the teeth.Fillings and other restorations can become loose because of the constant flexure of the tooth structure. Eat hard food in moderation.

Avoid Extreme Temperatures

Extremely hot or cold food should be avoided. Both metal and resin fillings expand and contract with extreme changes in temperature. As a result the teeth may crack and the fillings may leak.

Do not eat ice cream and then rinse out your mouth with hot water. Even water at room temperature might not be ideal in this situation. Use cold water to rinse out your mouth and allow the teeth to shift to the body temperature gradually. Sudden changes in the temperature produce minute fracture lines in the teeth. Similarly, do not rinse out your mouth with cold water after drinking a cup of hot tea or coffee. Use warm water to do so.

During Pregnancy

A mother’s intake of calcium is crucial to ensure strong bones and teeth in the fetus.

During Childhood

It is necessary to have adequate amounts of calcium in children’s diet. However, a parent’s responsibility does not end there. In terms of improving dental health, a comprehensive approach has to be taken. On top of ensuring good oral hygiene and adequate diet, children have to be encouraged to brush their teeth after every meal.

Changing the Outlook

I would like to mention that we should not be focused on dental health as an isolated entity. We should start thinking about how dietary habits can affect oral health and most importantly, overall health. Some behaviors that are bad for the body also negatively affect oral health. Drinking too much alcohol can lead to oral cancer and liver failure. Smoking can lead to periodontal disease, oral cancer and lung cancer. Eating too much junk food not only increases the risk of cavities, there is likelihood of obesity, diabetes and cardiac problems. Untreated eating disorders can lead to dental problems like chemical erosion of teeth. Skipping meals also result in increased acidity, and therefore, chemical erosion of teeth and Halitosis.

A person following dental hygiene is a good habit. Having good dental health will surely benefit into many terms to his body. But those persons not having nice dental health suffer a lot in an indirect way. Maintaining not only dental health, but taking care of other body parts is also of same importance. As, you know a human’s health can be easily affected though directly or indirectly in many ways. Just remember, poor dental hygiene frequently results in poor health but practicing good dental hygiene results in good health.

So, choosing which way to walk on is completely your right keeping in mind your health factor.

To maintain proper dental health you should be able to check out the symptoms at time so that you can the proper treatment. And if late treatment taken then gets sure those bacteria are going to attack your tooth and will start their work resulting into bad health. So avoid it and control in mean time. Practicing good dental hygiene will keep you away from tooth decay, plaque and tartar won’t allow taking over your mouth. After all, it affects your health and even the blood stream of your body which proves to be harmful as the blood keeps flowing throughout the body. Whether the disease resistance power of your body is good or bad it will then affect your health by way bacteria traveling in red blood cell. It would be advisable to take good care of your mouth and practice perfect dental hygiene. Poor oral health is more prone to heart disease.

Poor dental hygiene can affect person of any age. There is no age limit for any person if got infected because of bad oral problem. A child can be easily affected as the resistance power of there is low. A teenage can be affected because of eating of junk food, not following dental hygiene or by many of other factors. A pregnant woman when does not practice dental hygiene then her health may be affected. Proper care should be taken better enough for her child so that they do not suffer from this problem. Good oral hygiene will keep away from gum disease and so reduce the risk of child being affected. To get rid of this problem pregnant woman should undergo regular check-ups. An important safety measure for mother and child too.

Just follow some good oral health factors and do healthy exercise. Keep a habit to brush in morning as soon as you wake up, don’t delay the routine. This exercise will keep your gums healthy and strong along with maintaining your teeth, which results into less tooth decay and cavity problem that is caused by attack of bacteria.

Students of dental hygiene schools know the pros & cons of well aware of good dental hygiene and oral health important to keep their body fit and healthy. Others can get the source from many medical science books, dentist, and even by way of web search, etc.

People who practice good dental hygiene habits will not result into bad health. Live a healthy happy life.