Easy shopping swaps that will help protect your teeth


Health
18/01/2019
It's not just about sugar - acid in common food and drink can harm your family's teeth too. Follow these simple changes to protect your loved ones' smiles.

When you're shopping for food, keeping your family happy and healthy is always at the top of the list. But it's not always easy to do the right thing when some of the harms are hidden.

Take our teeth, for example. It's not just the obvious culprits like fizzy drinks that we should watch out for - healthier choices like fruit, juices and salad dressings can cause damage too .

That's because sugar, which encourages the growth of plaque, isn't the only danger to teeth.

Acidic food and drinks can also wear away at the enamel that protects our pearly whites.

Even snacks like dried fruit and starchy foods, such as white bread, can get easily lodged between teeth , which may lead to gum damage.

Gum damage and weakened enamel are extremely common amongst people of all ages , but they often go ignored. In fact, most adults have some form of gum disease , and a recent study found that almost a third of 18 to 35-year-olds have weakened enamel.

So how can you shop smart to keep your family's teeth strong and healthy?

SWAP: fizzy drinks or fruit juices
FOR: water or milk

Fizzy drinks and fruit juices are high in acid , which can erode our tooth enamel over time. Milk, on the other hand, is packed with the protein casein, which helps resist acids produced by plaque bacteria.

SWAP: lemon pudding
FOR: cheese board

It's a tempting option, but that tart lemon pudding is sugary and acidic - not great for our tooth enamel. Serve a tasty cheese board instead to help neutralise any food acids from your main meal.

SWAP: French salad dressing
FOR: extra virgin olive oil

Salad helps to keep your mouth clean, as it requires plenty of chewing, which gets saliva flowing, a natural defence against cavities . But vinegary French salad dressing won't do your smile any favours. Switch to extra virgin olive oil instead.

SWAP: coffee
FOR: green tea

Coffee may perk us up, but it dulls and stains our teeth. Why not brew up a pot of green tea instead for a brighter smile? It has an antioxidant kick and antibacterial action too.

SWAP: regular toothpaste
FOR: Oral-B Gum & Enamel Repair Toothpaste

Regular toothpastes just aren't sufficiently effective to prevent against enamel erosion caused by today's acidic diets. Oral-B Gum & Enamel Repair Toothpaste is the best clinically proven toothpaste from Oral-B to help rejuvenate gums and also repair enamel in just two weeks*.

What foods do you avoid to take care of your teeth? Share your suggestions in the comments below.

*In a laboratory study on weakened enamel.