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Healthy Eating For Good Oral Health Can Stop Tooth Decay

What you eat affects your health destiny. You can dramatically impact your dental health by eating a well-balanced, healthful diet. Research has shown that poor nutrition jeopardizes our oral health, which puts you at risk for a number of serious dental problems.

The Food Factor For Good Oral Health

Our food choices can make a big difference in two of the most common diseases today: tooth decay and gum disease. Certain foods, especially those containing sugar, are directly linked to increased levels of cavity-causing bacteria.

Tooth decay results when acids from the bacteria attack the teeth forming cavities. While diet doesn't directly cause gum disease, a condition affecting the supporting tissues of the teeth, researchers believe the disease is more rapid and severe when poor nutrition is a factor. Gum disease is a serious problem, since it can lead to tooth loss if untreated.

Diet and Dental Health

The American Dietetic Association and the National Institutes of Health recommend eating a well-balanced diet including plenty of the following:

• fruits
• vegetables
• a good variety of breads and cereals
• dairy products
• fish
• chicken
• dried beans
• peas
• meat

Enjoying a variety of foods is the best way to get all the important nutrients needed for keeping healthy. Beware of fad diets that exclude entire food groups. This can cause nutritional deficiencies.

Snack Smart To Avoid Tooth Decay

Snacking is a favorite pastime, but certain snack choices promote tooth decay such as soft, sweet, sticky foods. Select nutritious snacks better for your teeth and general good health, especially colorful, juicy fresh fruits and crisp, crunchy vegetables. Choose your snacks based on any other dietary concerns, such as low cholesterol, low-fat, or low sodium diets.

If you snack on crackers, cookies, or chips, it's better if you eat them in combination with other foods, such as cheese with crackers, rather than alone. This is because these foods, when eaten alone, tend to produce more bacteria in the mouth leading to tooth decay. Remember, each time you snack, oral bacteria is activated. Drink plenty of water to rinse away some of the disease-causing bacteria. If possible, brush your teeth after snacking.

Select from the wide variety of foods for healthful eating -- that are good for you and your teeth and be sure to check-in with your dentist.

By Brian J. Gray, DDS, MAGD, FICO

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.

Find A Dentist To Help You Answer Why I Have A Toothache

There are many causes of toothache and pain in the area of the mouth. When experiencing pain and/or swelling, it is important to see your dentist to have the area evaluated. The pain and/or swelling is most often related to a disease process that originates within a particular tooth.

The pulpal tissue within the tooth can be irritated by bacteria, external traumatic events, repetitive or extensive dental care procedures, or even periodontal disease causing a toothache. When this irritation occurs, the pulpal tissue reacts by becoming inflamed.

Since the pulpal tissues and the tissues supporting the tooth have a rich supply of nerve fibers, the inflammatory process can cause pain as these nerve pathways are stimulated. Additionally, the pulp tissue is encased inside tooth structure and it cannot swell and expand in reaction to injury like tissues in other areas of the body.

When the injured pulp tissue attempts to swell within the confined root canal space, the pressure buildup can cause a significant toothache.

Pain originating from the dental pulp can be either "spontaneous" or "elicited." Spontaneous pain occurs without an identifiable stimulus, whereas elicited pain occurs only in specific situations. Elicited pain requires a specific stimulus such as drinking cold or hot fluids or biting on the tooth.

As is typical anywhere in the body, the initial stages of a disease process do not always cause symptoms. Millions of teeth have irreversible pulpal disease yet the patients have no clinical symptoms.

Most of these situations will become evident when the dentist obtains a thorough history, does a clinical examination, performs specific tooth tests, and takes a series of well-angulated radiographs. It is important to note that pulpal disease can refer pain to other areas within the head and neck.

If the results of the endodontic examination indicate that root canal disease is not the source of the patient's toothache, then the dentist must consider other possibilities. When attempting to identify the source or cause of facial pain and/or swelling, the dentist must consider that the symptoms could actually originate in a tooth (endodontic disease), the gum tissues (periodontal disease), the muscles (myofacial pain), the joints (TMJ), the sinuses (sinusitis), or even the surrounding vascular (blood vessels) or nerve tissues.

Facial pain requires an accurate diagnosis so that the proper treatment can be recommended. At times, various medical and dental specialists may need to be consulted before an accurate diagnosis can be determined.

By Clifford J. Ruddle, DDS, in collaboration with Philip M. Smith, DDS

+Jim Du Molin is a leading Internet search expert helping individuals and families connect with the right dentist in their area. Visit his author page.