Five foods likely to damage your teeth

Certain foods and drinks promote tooth decay faster than others (Photo: Courtesy)

 One of the best bits of advice I ever received when I was younger was to "take good care of your teeth."

This is true. For one it's not fun to continually go to the dentist for operations, and two, repairing damaged teeth will cost you an arm and a leg.

When it comes to oral health, prevention is certainly better so we shouldn’t ignore the importance of taking good care of our teeth.

We may be aware of the need for dental hygiene, but we often ignore the importance of watching what we eat.

There are certain types of foods and drinks that will damage your teeth quickly. Here are five of those you should be cautious of:

• Citrus fruits

Citrus fruits come with many health benefits. They have vital nutrients that our bodies need such as vitamin C and they can help to keep serious diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure away.

While it’s great to munch on a couple of these tasty fruits often, they’re not so gentle on our teeth. Citrus fruits contain a lot of acids that can slowly corrode the enamel on our teeth exposing them to corrosion and decay.

The best thing is to limit your intake and if you’re drinking a citrus fruit beverage, you can sip with a straw to prevent contact with your teeth.

Citrus fruits contain a lot of acids that slowly corrode your teeth enamel (Photo: Courtesy)

• Sugary drinks

Most people know that sugary drinks are one of the biggest enemies for your teeth. These include energy drinks, sodas, juices, flavored milk and other options that can do a bit of damage to your teeth.

The excess sugar increases the acids that can erode your teeth so limiting your intake is a good solution for your dental health.

• Sticky foods

Sticky foods can make it harder for your saliva to wash it all away from your teeth. The sticky substances can also hide in your teeth for a longer time and cause decay.

Things like dried fruits and bread are some of the foods that can stick to your teeth and cause decay. To help your teeth stay healthy, you should rinse your mouth with some water after eating these types of foods.

Sugary snacks promote the growth of disease causing bacteria that lead to tooth decay (Photo: Courtesy)

• Sweet snacks

Just like sugary drinks, sweet candies and desserts are a big threat to the health of your teeth. They can trigger disease causing bacteria to flourish in your mouth which then increase your risk of tooth decay.

And some options like sour candies and those that stick to your teeth can cause even more problems. Limit how often you eat sugary sweets as much as possible.

• Alcohol

Drinking alcohol without remembering to take care of your teeth isn’t a good idea. Some of them can stain your teeth, like red wine and they can also cause diseases of the gums and hasten decay.

Some measures you can take is to go for the options that don’t contain a lot of sugar and to consume in moderation.