Dental Health Hand in Hand with Nutrition: Dairy Products for Oral Health

Most people think that the only way to boost oral health is by flossing, brushing the teeth, and regular dental visits. While all these may help in maintaining good oral hygiene, these are not the only things that can promote good dental health. If you want to have a healthy mouth, you also need to have a proper diet.

Before, many dentists would advise the consumption of healthy foods such as vegetables and fruits. These types of foods contain high amounts of vitamin A and C which can benefit the gums. Aside from these, many dentists would advise the consumption of dairy foods. Since these contain good amounts of calcium along with the other bone building supplements, it can help fortify the tooth enamel and prevent potential bone loss.

Cheese for Oral Health

According to studies carried out just recently, it was discovered that eating cheese can help people to prevent the formation of cavities. This is done in a lot of ways. For one, phosphorus and calcium found in cheese can help in infiltrating the layers of plaque that invades your teeth. Once the minerals get inside these layers, erosion can be prevented because the tooth enamel has gotten its much needed minerals once again. In addition to that, saliva production is promoted by the ingestion of cheese. With the amount of saliva produced, food particles can be washed away from the teeth. Last but not the least, cheese also contains proteins and fats that provide protection from acids that cause cavity.

With these simple benefits, it has been declared that eating cheese is highly recommended for good oral health.

Other Dairy Foods for Oral Health

Aside from cheese, there are a lot of other types of dairy products that aid in the promotion of good oral health. Here are some of them:

  • Yogurt

This dairy food item is said to help reduce tooth decay. As  a cultured milk product, yogurt contains high amounts of riboflavin, calcium, protein, vitamin B12 and B6 and many more. According to a study made in Japan, children who have consumed yogurt four times in a week have reduced risks of developing cavities as compared to children who have not taken any. It is said that the risk is reduced by about 22 percent.

  • Milk

White milk is highly recommended if you wish to have strong teeth and healthy mouth. However, you should reduce your intake of chocolate milk as it contains sugars that may pave the way for tooth decay,

Foods to Avoid

As stated above, dental health works hand in hand with nutrition. This is why you should also be careful in choosing the foods that you eat. Keep in mind that foods that are rich in sugar can promote the formation of cavities in the teeth. These include those foods which contain starches like crackers, potato chips and the likes.
If you want good oral health, you should pay more attention to what you eat too.