Preventive Dentistry

We are what we eat. You have probably heard that saying before and it is completely true. If you eat lots of fatty foods, chances are you will have a high blood pressure. If you eat lots of foods and do not exercise, chances are you are overweight. It goes the same with our teeth. There are many types of foods that have a direct impact on the health of our teeth. Dental experts like Dr. Jonathan Hartley advice the public to be careful with our food choices as these can either make or break our teeth.

Years ago when we were still small children, we are very fond of candies and almost anything that is sweet and colorful. We love eating cakes, licking on lollipops, drinking soft drinks, and slurping on tall glasses of milkshakes. Those were fun foods, but as we grow older we realize that eating too many sweets is not healthy, especially for our teeth. We start to suffer from tooth decay and even tooth loss because of all those sugar we have eaten.

Keeping our teeth in great condition should be our priority and it is fairly easy to do. Regular teeth brushing is what all dentists recommend. Often a twice a day brushing is fine, however for the best results, you should brush after each meal. This is to keep all the remaining small pieces of food from staying longer in our mouths and in between our teeth.

But there is more to good oral hygiene that merely brushing. Flossing is one thing that we all most know how to do and learn to do it on a regular basis. However the truth of the matter is that flossing is something that we are not very happy to perform. We find it extremely boring. But if what you want is cleaner teeth, then we should start flossing right away.

And just like brushing, flossing is also not enough to have a generally healthy set of teeth and gums. We should also be extra careful with the foods that we eat as these can also affect the quality of our teeth. Here are some foods and drinks that Dr. Jonathan Hartley recommends you can start including in your diet if you want that perfect smile all the time.

These are some of the foods that are good for the teeth:

Cheese and plain yogurt, chicken and other meats, raw vegetables such as carrot and celery sticks, nuts, and plain crisps.

When adding vegetables to your diet of teeth-friendly foods, think of carrot and celery.

These are the drinks that we should be drinking more of:

Fluoridated water, unsweetened tea, and milk. Just avoid drinking milk when you are about to go to bed. If you really want to drink milk late at night, just brush your teeth after drinking.

You have probably noticed that sugar is not among those that the dentists recommend. Quite obvious, isn’t it? This is because sugar is widely understood to cause tooth decay and other teeth problems, especially with little kids. So it is best to avoid too much sugar and to brush your teeth after eating anything that has sugar in it, otherwise it might be start of your teeth problems.

Dental specialists like Dr. Jonathan Hartley firmly believes that there are three main steps to achieve a healthier set of teeth. One is to brush at least two times a day, two is to floss regularly and lastly, that we should be eating the right kinds of foods.