Last Updated December 2021
The main cause of cavities is the acid that sits on the teeth and wears away enamel over time. Foods, from sugary sweets to starchy carbs, dissolve into sugars that turn into corrosive acid in the mouth, attacking teeth and weakening their strong veneer. To keep your teeth strong and your enamel intact, beware of these harmful foods.
#1 Sticky sugary foods
As you might guess, sugary sweets that you suck on for a long time can put a serious dent in enamel and endanger the health of your mouth. Sweets are loaded with sugar that stick to the teeth and take a long time to dissolve, exposing the gums and teeth to the damaging sugar.
#2 Sports Drinks
In addition to being high in sugar, some sports drinks can also promote tooth erosion, because they are also high in acid.
#3: Carbohydrates
While it may surprise you, bread, cakes and raisins can be damaging to teeth. These starches are simple carbohydrates that hang around the mouth and dissolve into the type of simple sugar that mouth germs thrive on, the kind that leads to acid-producing tooth decay.
FOODS TO KEEP STRONGER TEETH
Tooth enamel is the toughest tissue of the whole human body. Help keep the tough shell that covers the tooth at its strongest by adding these tooth-fortifying foods to your regular diet.
#1 Cheese
Dairy foods, including cheese, are rich in tooth and bone-fortifying calcium. Not all cheese products are high in calcium though, so be sure to check the label to see what percentage of your daily recommended calcium amount each serving is giving you.
#2 Leafy Greens
Spinach and other leafy greens are loaded with fibre, which is excellent for your teeth because it requires a lot of chewing to break down and generates saliva that cleans and rinses your teeth while also neutralising acid. Not keen on greens? A bowl of high-fibre beans offers the same benefit.
#3: Crunchy Veg
Raw veggies and fruits that require a lot of chewing, such as apples, pears and cucumbers, can all help keep the teeth strong. All the chewing helps stimulate the flow of saliva to help neutralise the acid in the mouth
