Category Archives: Tooth Enamel

The Best Foods For Your Teeth

15 Tuesday May 2012

Posted by in General Dentistry, oral hygeine, Tooth Enamel

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We’ve all heard the adage, “You are what you eat.” Well, the first thing that gets affected by what you eat are your pearly whites. So what are the best things to eat so that smile stays bright and white?  St. John Providence helps us with the answer:

Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables – Fiber-rich foods work like a detergent in your mouth, says the American Dental Association (ADA). They also stimulate saliva flow, which neutralize the acids and enzymes attacking your teeth. Saliva also contains calcium and phosphate, so it helps restore minerals to teeth that have lost them from the bacterial acids. Apples, avocados and broccoli are all high in fiber to help that smile sparkle.                                   

Cheese, milk and other dairy products – Like the fiber above, Cheese makes you salivate. Plus, the calcium and phosphates in dairy products help put back minerals your teeth might have lost due to those nasty bacterial acids. According to the Medicinal Food News, “Aged cheddar, Swiss, blue, Monterey Jack, brie, Gouda and processed American cheese all have been shown to reduce dental caries.”

Green teas – Tea contains polyphenols, which kill or suppress plaque bacteria, preventing them from producing tooth-attacking acid. A Science Daily report said, “Researchers found that routine intake of green tea may also help promote healthy teeth and gums.”

Sugarless gum – Another saliva generator, sugarless gum also helps removes food particles from your mouth. Orbits, Extra and Eclipse have all been given an ADA seal of approval.

Fluoridated drinking water - Most water in the United States has fluoride added to it. So, any product you make with fluoridated water will help your teeth. Dehydrated soups, powdered juices and drinks; really anything using fluoridated water. That’s, of course, as long as they are low in sugar.

A Smile Friendly Holiday Sweet Fix

14 Wednesday Dec 2011

Posted by in Adult Dentistry, General Dentistry, oral hygeine, pediatric dentistry, Tooth Enamel

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As a kid, I would always get the same answer as to why I wasn’t allowed to eat candy: “It will rot your teeth!” Now, I’m not much of a candy guy to begin with. Even as a kid I ate more fruits than candy but still, my parents would not relent, no matter how much fruit I ate.  Even during the holidays, I wouldn’t get so much as a candy cane. All because my stupid teeth might dissolve while still attached to my gums.

All grown up now and with my candy cane craving growing with the approaching holiday, I started to wonder: Is there any candy that might be good for your teeth?

To answer that question we have to first get to the root of the problem. Candy is bad for your teeth because of sugar. Why is sugar bad? Well, the bacteria in your mouth feed on sugar and create acid. It’s that acid that creates cavities and gum disease. So, as I’m sure you can imagine, sugar free candy is a fine replacement for any candy that might otherwise be high in sugar.

Sugar free gums like Orbit, Extra and Eclipse have been given an ADA seal of acceptance and have been shown to reduce plaque acid and strengthen teeth.

There are now sugar free, multi-vitamin, gummy bears that give kids their candy fix along with a healthy dose of vitamins to keep the rest of their body strong. I wish they had those when I was a kid. I had to suffer through the old school, children’s chewables… actually those weren’t so bad.

Chocolate is good for teeth. It does have sugar but that sugar is mixed in with fat that prevents the sugar from long exposure to teeth. Also, cocoa contains a lot of polyphenols, which can kill or suppress bacteria, preventing them from growing or producing tooth-attacking acid. Of course, the higher the cocoa level, the lower the sugar and subsequently, better for your teeth. I enjoy a nice 75% Dark Chocolate with a nice glass of Cab.

How about lollipops? Microbiologists from the Department of Oral Biology at the UCLA School of Dentistry have found that extract from the licorice root helps to disable bacteria that cause cavities. This extract can now be found in Dr. John’s® Herbal Lollipop, which advertises, “(take one) in the morning and one lollipop in the evening, for 10 days, disables tooth decay bacteria for 3 to 6 months.”

So, next time I think about having a sweet treat, I’ll remember my mother screaming about my teeth…. as I unwrap another Candy Cane.

Is white wine better for your teeth than red wine?

22 Thursday Sep 2011

Posted by in Tooth Enamel

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Is White Wine better for teeth than Red Wine?

I went out to dinner with some friends last night and while ordering we got into the discussion of wine stained teeth. My wife, being of sound mind, decided that she was going to drink white wine with dinner to avoid light purple, stained chompers at the end of the evening. This got me thinking… Is white wine really better for your teeth than red wine?

White Wine, is it really better for your teeth?

White wines contain far less pigments than red wine. However, the problem comes from the acid, which both wines contain and is the element that is most damaging to teeth. The acid erodes the tooth enamel and leads to staining. Of course over time, loss of enamel can lead to host of other problems, including, sensitivity, tooth pain and tooth decay.

Cow’s teeth that were immersed in white wine and black tea (left), and in red wine and black tea, (right).

A study led by Mark Wolff at the New York University College of Dentistry, had cow teeth (which are very similar to human teeth) soaked in black tea alone, then soaked in white wine followed by black tea.  According to the study, the teeth soaked in the wine picked up a great deal of brownish-red pigment, while the teeth soaked only in black tea were unstained. The findings were that the wine helped to erode some of the enamel and left teeth exposed to the staining pigments in the tea.

So what can you do once those pearly whites are stained? Wolff suggests using a toothpaste with a mild whitening agent. But don’t brush too hard, and don’t brush immediately after that wine or juice (when tooth enamel has been weakened), or you could just make the problem worse.

Of course, if you are trying to avoid staining your teeth, you’ll probably want to pick a different beverage altogether.