It’s no secret that a high sugar diet can be a primary cause for tooth decay as well as loss of tooth enamel from too much acidity. However, studies show that almost nine in ten of us believe that a healthy diet is important for maintaining excellent oral health.

However, with sugary snacks, fizzy drinks and other unhealthy food choices so readily available to us, it’s important to recognise maybe just how much of these items we are regularly consuming. The likelihood is, it’s more often than we think and therefore could be having a negative impact on our oral health. For example, fizzy drinks are packed with acid and sugar which can result in your tooth enamel eroding and your teeth rotting.

So what can you do to improve the health of your teeth?

Reduce your snacking on the sweet stuff

We are not the type of dentists to tell you never to eat these wonderful food items again… however, reducing the volume of these items in your diet is only going to have a positive impact on your oral health. Ultimately, consuming too much sugar can lead to tooth decay, gum disease, tooth loss and other health problems.

If you’re a serial snacker, try substituting your chocolate and sweets for foods such as yoghurt, vegetables, cheese and even fruit. Whilst fruit does contain sugar, it’s far less than your average bar of dairy milk and it’s good for you!

Forget the fizzy

We’re sorry to say that in our favourite drinks including fizzy, fruit juices and alcohol, are acids that essentially, over time, wear away the enamel that protects our teeth, leaving them looking unsightly, vulnerable to bacteria and increasing tooth sensitivity.

This even applies to the ‘diet’ and ‘sugar free’ versions, where the pH levels in these “healthier” alternatives are incredibly low, making them exceedingly acidic and damaging to our teeth.

Our advice? Stick to drinking water or milk, and avoid the fizzy and fruit juices as best you can in order to protect your smile.

A healthy diet really does have a positive impact on our dental health.

We don’t recommend cutting these foods or drinks out completely, because they are to be enjoyed! However, making a conscious effort to reduce our intake of sugary snacks or fizzy drinks will go a long way in protecting our oral health, whilst also helping to avoid potentially unpleasant and expensive dental treatment in the future.

If you need advice or would like more information about our dental services, please give us a call on 01202 487888 to chat to our team or you can discover more here.