CARING FOR YOUR TEETH NATURALLY

Healthy and strong teeth boost our self confidence and illuminate happiness. There are steps we need to take to guarantee healthy teeth. Nutrition to a large extent is very essential for all the cells in the body including the teeth and gums. As such, care should be taken in our daily choices of food as some of the food or drinks we take help to feed plaques in the mouth and when such foods come in contact with the plaque, it becomes acid within 20 minutes and started attacking the teeth. This results to breakdown in enamel, tooth decay and gum disease.

When I talk of caring for your teeth, what do I mean? I mean maintaining oral hygiene and protecting your teeth. This can be achieved by keeping our mouth and teeth clean at all times by so doing, we prevent dental disorders such as cavities (hole in the gum); tooth decay, gum disease otherwise called gingivitis etc.

There are foods and drinks that are helpful for healthy and strong teeth. They include: celery/crunchy vegetables, cheese, sugar-free gum that contains sobitol/xylitol, water, fruits and vegetables that contains Anti-oxidants, foods that are less acidic, Yogurt, pears etc. One may ask why these foods are helpful. Let us look at them one after the other.

Crunchy Vegetables/Celery is fibrous in nature and the fibrous strands naturally cleanse the tooth. They have an automatic cleansing action that clears sticky remains/wreckages from the teeth.

Cheese has low sugar and acid but contains calcium, casein (a protein in milk that strengthens the facades of the teeth). It is also high in calcium and phosphorus.

Sorbitol/Xylitol Gum –chewing of gum does two things to the teeth. It fuels the production of saliva which neutralizes acid and re-mineralizes the enamel. It automatically clears wreckages on the teeth because it has anti-bacterial action. The sugar replacement found in sugar–free gums prevents bacteria in plaque caused by sugar that generate harmful acids which degrade tooth enamel.

Water – Drinking water aids salivation by ensuring that the salivary glands cells are well hydrated. By so doing, it reverses the havoc caused by acids to the teeth enamels.

Fresh Fruits like pears has acid neutralizing effect on the teeth surface and it also improves salivation because of its fibrous nature.

Fruits that contains Vitamin C helps to re-materialize the teeth.

Sugar-Free Yogurt helps to moderate caloric intake and reduces plaques and gingivitis. It also contains casein, calcium ad phosphates to rematerialize the teeth.

Study has shown that the following can cause more harm than good to our teeth: Lack of oral hygiene, smoking, intake of acidic beverages (e.g.) soda, citric juice etc., eating of food that stains the teeth (e.g.) coffee, some antibiotics, colour spices etc.

Sugary Food – Study has shown that sugar aids tooth decay due to its production of acids which attacks the teeth. But if you are such a person that cannot avoid sugary food, then brush your teeth or rinse your mouth with water or chew a sugar free gum immediately after eating. Example of such food is candy.

Acidic Food and drinks – This include Coffee, Chocolate, lemon etc. Due to the change that occurs in the PH Level of the mouth, it creates an enabling environment for bacteria. Instead of coffee, take green tea because it contains a substance (Catchen) that kills bacteria.

Steer clear from Soft Drinks because they do more harm than good to the teeth.

Limit the intake of Alcohol because it is acidic and also contributes to erosion of the teeth.

Smoking kills the enamel and more over is dangerous to health.

Limit intake of darkening or staining drinks like red wine etc.

Reduce the consumption of vivid colour spices.

Avoid eating hard food like ice blocks.

How do we naturally care for our teeth?

 

ü    Use toothpaste that contains Aloe Vera, Vitamin K, Minerals (Q10) because they boost immune system and Coconut Oil which is a natural antibiotic.

ü    Chewing of sugar-free gum that has xylitol/sobitol helps to remove food residue from the mouth and aids salivation.

ü    Eat a lot of food that are rich in calcium because it prevents tooth decay.

ü    Brushing your teeth twice daily helps to prevent food from sticking to the teeth/gum.

ü    Keep your toothbrush clean by soaking it in salted boiled water for a minute.

ü    Do not use your teeth to open any hard object.

ü    Brush in a circular motion not back to front.

ü    Clean your tongue with tongue scraper and use alcohol free mouthwash to rinse off bacteria.

ü    Change your toothbrush every 3 months.

ü    Visit a dentist at least once a year.