Grab the Right Foods for a Brighter Smile and Healthier Teeth

Have you ever heard the phrase you are what you eat? Sadly, your teeth and your overall smile are no exception to this rule. Many foods can help you with a slight whitening effect, while there are some that can stain your teeth and give them a yellowish look. Drinking coffee, teas, and sodas could easily cause this. 

It doesn’t matter if you floss, brush or use mouthwash twice a day, you might have reached a point of no return. This means that you need to change your diet. Here are some of the foods a dental clinic in St. Albert may recommend:

• Dairy products: Ever since you were little your mother probably told you to drink milk so you could grow tall and strong. Well, she was right; dairy products like milk, yogurt, and cheese contain calcium, which fortifies bones and teeth. Also, they contain lactic acid. The combination of these components can whiten your teeth and help you remove stains.

• Banana peel: It’s amazing how nutritious bananas are. Even medium-sized ones contain hundreds of minerals (mostly potassium, manganese, and magnesium). You don’t need to eat the peel so don’t worry. All you have to do is rub it against your teeth for two minutes a day. In about a week, you will notice an attractive lustrous white look to your smile.

•  Strawberries: They are a natural astringent due to their high content of malic acid. This allows them to be able to remove stains from your teeth. If you eat a couple of strawberries every day, you will see the discolouration of your teeth go away. As a plus, seeds of strawberries act as a scrubber to remove bacteria from the surface of the teeth.

•  Apples: Like strawberries, apples have malic acid. This will help you to keep your teeth white.Furthermore, they are hard to chew, which makes eating them a cleansing exercise that washes away stains as it acts like a natural scrubber.

• Citrus Fruits: Lime, lemons, and oranges, what do they have in common? Their high content of citrus acid acts as a natural astringent that removes stains from the teeth. Be careful though and ask your dentist in St. Albert about this. The amount of acid in these fruits can erode your teeth’s enamel, which makes them more susceptible to cavities or tooth decay.

• Vegetables: Crunchy and fibrous vegetables help preserve the natural colour of your teeth without having to worry about stains. They contain minerals and vitamins that gives them strength. Furthermore, the crunchiness of vegetables like celery can scrape stains off the surface. Also, vegetables with high content of water such as carrots help to stimulate saliva production. This helps to eliminate food residues from your mouth, and to decrease the amount of plaque, making your gums healthier. Cauliflower and broccoli are hard to chew, which makes you produce saliva while they scrub your teeth, lowering the amount of plaque on their surface. Last but not least, we have basil,which is a natural antibiotic that reduces the amount of bacteria on your teeth.

• Seeds and nuts: All dry nuts are rich in calcium, but they also have a hard and abrasive surface that helps in removing stains and plaque from your teeth. Therefore, eating a few peanuts, almond or walnuts among other things will help you keep a white smile.   

Even though healthy food helps your smile look bright and white, it will never replace a visit to a dentist near you in St. Albert. Going at least twice a year along with good oral hygiene practices and good nutrition will ensure that you have a bright and natural-looking smile.