things that make bad teeth and gums

Things That Make Bad Teeth & Gums More Likely

How to Avoid Cavities and Gum Disease

Although your teeth are very hard, there are some things that you do that can damage your teeth and gums. Some of them can lead to rapid tooth decay and dental caries (cavities). By avoiding those things, it may be possible for you to prevent dental decay. 

 

The Cause of Dental Decay

One of the main causes of teeth problems is the bacteria in your mouth. There are more than 700 kinds of bacteria that are usually present in your oral cavity – your mouth. Some of them are good for your teeth, some do not make a difference, and some are really bad for your pearly whites. 

The bad bacteria in your mouth are largely what cause tooth decay. It accumulates every day as a white film on your teeth. It is called plaque. The reason it is bad is that when you eat carbs and sugars, thistheseteria turn it into acid. The acid erodes the enamel on your teeth. It is also the bacteria that cause gum disease. 

The other primary cause of tooth decay – which you control – is how much sugar you consume daily. The more sugar you eat, the more acid there will be in your mouth. If you sip sodas and specialty coffees all day, you are exposing your teeth to destructive acid all day. Some sodas have as much as nine teaspoons of sugar in each can – and their own acids. 

 

How to Prevent Tooth Decay

Preventing tooth decay is largely in your hands. It is you that must take action to prevent it. Here are some steps that will show you how to prevent cavities. 

  • Reduce Your Sugar Intake

Because the bad bacteria that produce the acid will always be in your mouth, you need to cut back on your sugar intake. Most Americans consume much more sugar than is healthy. Natural sugars really do not pose a problem, but the added artificial or refined sugars do. The American Heart Association (AHA) reveals that men should not eat more than 150 calories of added sugar per day (9 teaspoons), and women should not eat more than 100 calories each day (6 teaspoons).

 

Dry Mouth

When you have a dry mouth, this can damage your teeth and gums. The main reason is that saliva also helps to keep the bad bacteria under control. It washes some of it off your teeth and it also provides some minerals to help strengthen your teeth. A dry mouth will lead to cavities and gum disease if allowed to persist. 

You can reduce your dry mouth symptoms by making sure you are hydrated, and by sipping water throughout the day. Some liquids are diuretics, which mean they help you eliminate water from your body. Coffee, tea, alcohol, and drinks with a lot of sugar in them will all have this effect. They will dry out your mouth more than if you drank regular water. 

 

Not Eating Healthy Foods

Besides being heavy on the sugars and carbs, many foods that Americans regularly eat usually lack enough nutrients to keep family members healthy. The vitamins and minerals you gain by eating more fruits and vegetables help to stop tooth decay by ensuring that your body has enough of the right nutrients to strengthen your teeth. The same nutrients will also strengthen your immune system and help it to fight off gum disease and oral cancers. 

Some foods are healthy for your teeth because they provide the nutrients your teeth need, or they help control the bad bacteria. Cheese and yogurt, apples, and leafy greens are among the most beneficial.

 

Lack of Proper Oral Hygiene

Developing good oral hygiene habits can help your teeth to last longer. Brushing your teeth twice a day will remove the plaque from your teeth. In order to do it right, though, you need to brush for at least two minutes each time. Flossing is also necessary because it will remove the food, sugars, and bacteria, from in between your teeth. 

Proper oral hygiene can also help you prevent gum disease. It will keep the bacteria away from your teeth, and help prevent inflammation, too. 

 

Sticky Foods

Foods that are sticky, such as candies and sweets, are also bad for your teeth. Sticky foods enable the bad bacteria to produce acid directly on your tooth’s surface for longer periods of time. These foods will also stay in between your teeth longer and they are harder to remove. 

 

Get Regular Dental Checkups

When you want to prevent tooth decay, it is largely up to you. However, if and when dental problems do develop, you want them taken care of quickly. Regular visits to the dentist can enable problems to be spotted quickly – and treated quickly. This helps to minimize both the work that needs to be done and the cost. Letting problems become worse will only mean it will cost more to repair it. 

Looking for routine dental checkup in Farmers branch, Texas? Call 214-747-0763 , Champion Dental  Free First Exam + Free Whitening for Life* -* Terms & Conditions Apply

Sodas and Teeth DFW TX

Sugary Sodas Linked Again to Higher Chance of Dental Cavities

Are Sodas Worth the Cost of a Lot of Dental Care?

Sodas and Teeth DFW TX

During the summer months especially, people are going to be drinking a lot of soda. It is used at meals, sipped on through the day, and many people drink some for snacks while watching TV. While many people have heard it is not good for teeth, few people understand what happens when you mix soda and teeth. 

 

Why Sugar Can Cause Dental Decay

There are naturally more than 500 different types of bacteria in your mouth. Some of them are good, and some are bad. In a healthy mouth, these two types of bacteria are balanced. Introducing sugar into your mouth produces an imbalance and the bad bacteria multiply. As it does, it produces an acid that erodes the enamel on your teeth. 

These same bacteria also cause gum disease. Sipping on sodas and other sweet drinks through the day only increases the number of bad bacteria, and this leads to more destruction of the enamel on your teeth. Soon, cavities will appear and your teeth will be stained. 

 

Soda and Sugar

One of the reasons that soda is a problem is because sugar and tooth decay go together. The sugar in soda is sticky and it sticks to your teeth longer than some other foods. Because it sticks to your teeth, it enables bacteria to multiply and cause erosion to the enamel on your teeth. 

Each can or bottle of soda has a lot of sugar in it. More than most people know about. A can of Coke contains about nine teaspoons of sugar. Clear sodas contain about the same amount, and root beer contains even more sugar than Coke.

 

Sodas and Acid

Sodas also contain a lot of acid in them. Each sip you take of soda causes an acid attack on your teeth for about 20 minutes. This acid is in addition to the acid created by the bad bacteria. Sipping on soda all day exposes your teeth to a very powerful acid – phosphoric acid. One study compared the acid in soda to battery acid. Citric acid is the most powerful type of acid used in soft drinks. 

Diet soda often contains no table sugar, but it is not harmless either. It may contain another type of acid.

 

The Effects of Acid

The acid in soda will cause a noticeable difference in your teeth after a while. Because the enamel is getting thinner, if you continue to drink a lot of soda regularly, your teeth will start to yellow more. This is caused by less enamel covering the dentin, which is a darker yellow. The chewing surface of your teeth may be dented, uneven, and rounded. Less enamel can also make your teeth more sensitive to hot and cold foods and drinks.

The acid removes some of the minerals in your teeth, making them weaker. It also creates tiny holes in the enamel of your teeth, giving the acid access to the dentin. It is these holes in your tooth’s enamel that makes it sensitive to certain foods or temperatures. 

 

The Need for Saliva

The saliva in your mouth helps protect your mouth and teeth from the bad bacteria. When you have a good amount of it, it washes away the bacteria, acids, sugars, and helps destroy the bad bacteria. Sodas tend to dehydrate and can make your mouth dry. Many other drinks have this same effect. 

A dry mouth promotes the growth of the wrong kind of bacteria. Some medications will also help to cause a dry mouth, and this can lead to gum disease. 

Saliva also helps to repair damage to your teeth. Healthy eating provides the right minerals in your mouth and it can repair the enamel – but possibly not faster than it is destroyed if you drink a lot of soda. 

 

Evidence of Cavities

One of the key effects of soda on teeth is that it will eventually cause cavities. Some symptoms are that you will have a toothache, brown or black stains on your teeth, pain in a tooth when you bite on something or you may even have a visible pit or hole in a tooth. 

 

How to Prevent Cavities from Soda

Because of the acid in sodas, and the harm it does to the enamel on your teeth, it is not a good idea to brush your teeth right after drinking soda. The acid weakens the enamel, and brushing right away will cause some of it to be knocked loose with your toothbrush. 

Drinking water and rinsing your mouth with it after drinking soda and sugary foods will help to remove some of the acid and sugar. You also do not want to sip soda all day. Instead, drink it rather quickly and follow it up by rinsing with water. 

If you have dental decay from acidic drinks and need tooth decay treatment, MyChampion Dental clinic certified dental specialists’ can assist you. We perform a wide range of dental services, including treating the effects of soda on teeth. Call our Farmers’ branch office for more details