Dental Tips: Eating Out While Keeping Your Oral Health In Mind

Eating out is a treat that many people enjoy for several reasons, like not having to cook or clean up, but going out to eat does not always help your oral health. Yet, you do not have to worry about that anymore, as you could eat out and keep your teeth in good health with the following guide.

What To Stay Away From

The first thing you should avoid is feeding the bacteria responsible for dental ailments, like cavities or tooth sensitivity. You can do this by simply depriving oral pathogens of the foods they adore, like the following:

• Refined carbohydrates, like white flour, so opt for sprouted flours or whole wheat flours
• Opt for mineral-rich sweeteners, like maple syrup, raw honey, or organic coconut sugar instead of processed sugar
• Sodas contain both processed sugars and are highly acidic
• Sticky foods, like raisins, may get stuck on your teeth and that could lead to plaque or gingivitis

Talk to your dentist about other foods that you should avoid to keep your teeth in good condition while you are eating out.

Tips to Make Your Meals Oral-Friendly

Consider the following to help keep your teeth healthy:

Cheese & Wine

Pairing a little red wine with your choice of aged cheese--the older the better--can help keep your teeth healthy and free of bacteria. Wine, for one, contains polyphenols that stop the growth of oral pathogens and their reproductive abilities. Cheese helps rebalance your mouth's acidity and returns it to a normal pH value, which bacteria cannot survive in.

Crunchy Salad

The next thing you should consider is having your nutty salad at the end of your meal, which should help scrape off any stains or food particles from your teeth. Eating your salad at the end of your meal also helps, due to the leafy vegetables, which are very chewy. This is important to get rid food particles that might get stuck in between your teeth.

Fruity Salad

You should also consider a salad with fruits that contain malic acid; this may help improve your oral health. Malic acid is an active ingredient found in some fruits that helps break down the biofilm that bacteria make to adhere to your teeth. This acid also helps reduce bacteria populations and activates your salivary production for added pathogen-killing action.

Fruits to include:

• Apples
• Strawberries and other berries in general
• Apricots
• Lychees
• Pears
• Watermelons
• Nectarines
• Bananas
• Cherries

As you can see, taking care of your teeth is something that you can do even when you decide to treat yourself with a dinner outside of your home. For more information, talk to a dentist like Chen Sharon DMD PC.