Tag: healthy teeth

Why You Should Avoid Sugar Before Bed to Keep Teeth Healthy

Why You Should Avoid Sugar Before Bed to Keep Teeth Healthy

Posted on | by mel | Leave a Comment on Why You Should Avoid Sugar Before Bed to Keep Teeth Healthy

Eating Before Sleeping Without Brushing Your Teeth Is Bad

When it comes to your teeth, there is no doubt that sugar is one of the worst substances for your dental health. Although everyone loves its sweet taste and often find it difficult to get enough of it in candy, sodas, and desserts, it can easily damage your teeth and gums. If you want healthy teeth, you will want to avoid eating sugar if you are going to bed and not brushing your teeth. 

 

Sweets and Your Teeth

Many people enjoy eating comfort foods before going to bed. Besides the effects of sugar giving you an extra burst of energy when you are trying to go to sleep, leaving it on your teeth overnight will lead to tooth decay and faster cavities. 

When you eat a snack before going to bed and do not brush your teeth, it will lead to damaged enamel on your teeth. This will lead to problems because you cannot regrow tooth enamel. You will need to go to a dentist to repair it. 

 

The Problem with Sugar

There are more than 500 types of bacteria that are naturally found in your mouth. When your mouth is healthy, the bacteria – good and bad – are normally kept in balance. 

When the bad bacteria consume sugar, it will produce acid as a result. It is this acid that causes cavities and gum disease. It erodes the enamel from your teeth, causing the enamel to grow thinner, leading first to sensitive teeth, then to cavities.

Brushing your teeth at least twice a day helps to reduce the amount of acid that stays on your teeth, protecting them for a while. Of course, the layer of bacteria that is always forming on your teeth – called plaque – will slowly rebuild through the day and night. 

Your saliva naturally helps to control the bacteria and acid, too, and it helps to wash it away from your teeth. It does not wash it all away. If you have dry mouth, which can be caused by medications, alcohol, and some diseases, you need to ensure that you stay hydrated. When you have insufficient amounts of saliva and do not stay hydrated, you will develop cavities much faster as the bacteria multiply more than usual and produce more acid. You will also be very likely to develop gum disease and it will also progress faster than usual. You naturally produce less saliva at night.

 

Not Brushing Your Teeth

If you eat something with sugar in it, or carbs, before going to bed and do not brush your teeth, you already have a considerable amount of plaque on your teeth from the day. Now that you have given the bacteria and acid a head start, they will now continue to produce even more – causing even more dental erosion. 

The same bacteria can also cause gum disease. This is because the acid irritates the gums. The more bacteria and acid there is, the more irritation there will be. Soon, an autoimmune reaction will start, and you have gum disease. Maintaining good oral hygiene can help keep these bacteria under control and it will reduce its effects on your teeth.

 

Tips for Keeping Sugar Off Your Teeth

Sugar comes in many forms and you may not even be aware of some of them. Even the smallest amounts of sugar can give some bacteria enough to produce acid on your teeth. Another thing you must know is that every time that this bacterium consumes sugar it will produce acid for the next 20 minutes. 

This is also true for every sip of a sugary drink, such as soda, specialty coffees or tea, or fruit juice. If you are going to be sipping on a sweet drink all day long, you are exposing your teeth to acid all day long. Besides the acid that the bacteria produce, there is going to be additional acid in some of these drinks. Coffee, tea, wine, fruit juice, and others have their own acid your teeth will have to contend with. Diet sodas, even though they may not have sugar in them, they have acid – as do most sodas.

  • Limit Sugary Drinks to Meals – Because of the acid and sugar in many drinks, it is a good idea to limit yourself to drinking it at a meal. Once the meal is complete, be sure to rinse your mouth out with water, and brush your teeth later. During the day, when you need a drink, drink water.
  • Avoid Sticky Foods – Foods that will stick between your teeth, such as potato chips, soft candy, breads, etc., will get stuck between your teeth. This enables the bacteria to multiply and produce acid longer – on your teeth. 
  • Brush Twice a Day and Floss – While you want to brush after meals, you should wait about 20 minutes or more before brushing. The enamel on your teeth is softened from your meal, which can cause you to lose some microscopic pieces of your enamel if you brush too soon. 

 

You can enjoy your smile longer if you reduce sugar to help maintain healthy teeth. Eating right will also strengthen your teeth and gums. If you suffer from tooth decay or gum disease, give a call to 214-747-0763, Champion Dental Clinic, Farmers Branch, Texas for the best affordable treatment

 

guide to healthy teeth

How-To Guide To Healthy Teeth

Posted on | by mel | Leave a Comment on How-To Guide To Healthy Teeth

Steps You Need to Take to Keep a Beautiful Smile

guide to healthy teeth

When thinking about health, most people do not think much about caring for the health of your teeth. The truth is there is a definite connection between having a healthy mouth and having a healthy body. This how to guide will present an overview of what you need to keep your healthy teeth.  

 

Brush Your Teeth

Brushing your teeth and flossing form the basic two things that serve as a starting place for healthy teeth. You need to brush your teeth at least twice a day for two minutes each time and floss them once a day – preferably before you go to bed. 

 

Gum Disease

The bacteria in your mouth will form a film (plaque) on your teeth every so many hours. This is constantly occurring and brushing your teeth will remove it from the surface of your teeth, and flossing removes it from in between your teeth. 

When you eat sweets and sugar-laden drinks, it causes the bad bacteria in your mouth to multiply. When it does, it produces an acid that starts attacking the enamel on your teeth. Without the proper care, the bacteria will continue to create dental problems. Your healthy gums will start to show signs of gum disease, which in the early stages are revealed by bleeding gums when you brush your teeth, they may possibly be inflamed, and your gums may be noticeably receding.

In more advanced stages, gum disease becomes periodontitis, which causes more adults to lose their teeth than any other cause. The same bacteria involved in the more mild form of gum disease (gingivitis) continues producing acid that destroys your gums, the structures that hold your teeth in place, and your jawbone. Only a periodontist can help restore your gums and teeth at this point – and it will be very costly. 

 

Why Healthy Teeth and Gums Are Important

Recent research has discovered that the bacteria that cause gum disease and inflammation are also a major factor in as many as 50 different diseases and health problems. Among them are diabetes, cardiovascular disease, heart attack, and stroke. Several types of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s, COPD, pregnancy complications, and many more are caused by these same bacteria. 

 

Eat Healthy Foods

The acids and sugars in many foods attack the enamel on your teeth, which leads to a process called demineralization. This means it is actually removing important minerals from your teeth, weakening the enamel and even making holes in it. By eating balanced healthy foods, your teeth can be remineralized and strengthened. Both processes are constantly occurring, but healthy eating helps ensure that the right vitamins and minerals are available. 

The right kind of nutrition is also necessary to help your immune system. When healthy, your immune system can help fight off both gum disease and some oral cancers. Both of them are apt to grow faster when you do not get enough of the right kind of nutrition. 

Smoking, or using chewing tobacco or even e-cigs, weakens the immune system in your mouth. This is why dental work on smokers takes longer to heal, and it is also why many smokers develop oral cancer. 

 

Teeth Cleaning

Making regular visits to the dentist is also important to keep healthy teeth. The dentist can spot dental problems in their early stages and treat them, which could easily prevent the need for more costly treatments later on. As the dentist provides regular teeth cleaning, they can also tell you about spots you may be missing in your own dental care. 

In between teeth cleanings, there may be other times when you should contact your dentist. These include occasions when you notice:

  • Red or tender gums that may also bleed when you brush.
  • Your gums are pulling away from your teeth.
  • Your teeth become sensitive to hot and cold.
  • Bad breath that you cannot prevent.
  • Some teeth are becoming loose.
  • Sores in your mouth are not healing.
  • Your teeth do not align the same way.
  • Your dentures or partials do not fit the same way.
  • You have difficulty when swallowing.

 

Be Careful of Drugs

The illegal kind of drugs can contain many harmful types of chemicals that will help destroy your teeth fast. They contain acids that will weaken your teeth’s enamel quickly, leading to serious cavities, gum disease, and tooth loss.

Even prescription drugs can harm your teeth. Some drugs, such as some antibiotics, can lead to discoloring them. If you are taking a drug that seems to be discoloring your teeth, see if your doctor can prescribe an alternative medication. 

In order to maintain your healthy teeth and gums, you need the regular assistance of a dentist. If you live in Farmers Branch, TX all you need to do is call 214-747-0763 , Champion dental clinic  for your regular dental check ups and affordable oral care. Make Champion Dental as your preferred dentistry for all your family dental needs.