Oral Health and your diet!

Hi fellow MFP members and friends,

My name is Silvia and I am Certified Dental Assistant in Kelowna, BC and fairly new to MFP. This site is amazing, and allows you to be more aware of your calorie and food intake. It has helped me a great amount to be more aware of my body and my food choices! The one thing I have noticed with this site, though, is that it focusses everything on food, diet, and exercise alone and nothing inbetween. This topic is about your oral health and how it links to your diet and being an overall healthy you.

Everyone is doing a great job on here trying to eat healthier and live more actively. Think about this though: The first step of your digestive system starts with your mouth, with the enzymes in your saliva breaking down the food and with the motion of chewing. You`re all very aware of what you`re putting into your body to be healthy, but now let`s be aware of what we`re putting in our mouths to have healthier teeth and tissues in order to have a healthier body.

Several diseases are known to be linked to having poor oral health and care (of course with other factors, not just oral health alone). But when you neglect or don`t properly take care of your teeth and tissues, you ARE putting yourself at risk for diseases with not just of the mouth but with your whole body as well. Gingivitis is one of the most common human disease in the world (yes, it is a disease), but it is also the most easiest to treat and to control!!! Improved daily oral hygiene practices is the only thing that prevents and reverses gingivitis.

Though gingivitis is only caused by neglect of brushing and flossing, dental caries (aka cavities) is caused by neglect and but guess what, THE FOOD IN YOUR MOUTH! You`re spending hundreds and hundreds of dollars getting restorations such as fillings, and crowns and having root canals (which btw is what I assist with! haha) when you can just take CARE of your teeth by first, brushing and flossing regularily, and second EATING HEALTHY! Oral hygiene and your diet almost contradict each other though. The healthy way to eat (so I think and what I prefer) is smaller portions and more regularily, but guess what, your mouth hates that! So in order to eat healthy and please your mouth at the same time you NEED to BRUSH properly at least 2-3 times a day and FLOSS at least once a day! Make it a routine, just like you make exercising and eating a routine. I also have a few tricks up my sleeves to help you make healthier food choices for your mouth and your body

You need to know, as well, that the food that cause cavities isn`t just candy. People always think: Oh..well I don`t eat candy, I cut it out of my diet, or I don`t eat chocolate, so i can`t get cavities. WRONG! Sweets on a regular basis are going to cause cavities if you don`t take care of your teeth, but also CARBS like breads and crackers cause cavities because they stick to your teeth and get into every little groove and crevice. That sucks because I love to have my sandwich for lunch everyday and so what do I do?

There are things you can add to your carbs so they aren`t harming your teeth (as much) such as, adding creamy avocado to your sandwich or cheese to your crackers. Fats are good for your teeth because they are slippery and can get those sticky foods out of there. Cheese and milk is one of the best snacks for your teeth because it contains caseinate which is a protein that is able to prevent the cavity-causing bacteria to stick to the tooth surface! AMAZING! My last tip is to chew gum in between snacks and meals! Chewing gum is great because it gets your saliva flowing (which reduces the acidity level in your mouth that causes cavities), and it kicks those cravings to keep snacking! Look for chewing gum that contains XYLITOL (most of Trident gum has it). Xylitol has an antibacterial effect against the cavity-causing bacteria! Also so amazing!!

Sorry this was so long but lets have a recap:
-Brush at least twice a day!
-Floss everyday!
-Cheese is a great snack!
-Chew that xylitol-containing gum!

Thank you for everyone who read this entire thing, even though it might just be a snore to you. I am very passionate about my health and the health of others, so I want everyone to be aware about how important your mouth is.

Also, Im not a dentist, doctor, or went to medical school so this is information based on my belief and facts that I have learnt in my dental assisting course. If there is any information that is wrong or you would like to add, feel free to mention it, but please dont get mad at me, Im just trying to help! If you have any questions, please ask!

Now go rock out with your floss and toothbrush people!