Surprising Foods that Can Cause Tooth Decay

My grandfather had all of his original permanent teeth until he was well into his seventies. He was very jealous about brushing his teeth every day, but he never used dental floss. He liked to use the tooth powder that they had back in the day instead of toothpaste. It came in a can. The other thing that he attributed the longevity of his pearly whites to was that he chewed tobacco.

Granddad never smoked a cigarette in his life, but he did like to chaw on the Beechnut. He tried Copenhagen ("just a pinch between your cheek and gum") for a while and then finally went to chewing what is called a "twist." It is tobacco that sort of looks like twisted dog doo doo. At least we used to tell him that.

The other thing that he told us was to immediately brush after eating a high acid food. He maintained that they were harder on your tooth enamel than sweet, sugary foods. For proof he told us to just look at the teeth of an alcoholic. They looked bad because the alcoholic threw up a lot and the acid from his stomach corroded his teeth and caused cavities.

According to Men's Health Magazine, gramps was right on where tooth wisdom was concerned:

" A new study in the British Dental Journal reports that some sugarless gums and candies contain extra ingredients that eat away at tooth enamel, contributing to cavities."

Yeah Grandpa hit the nail right on the head. The study shows that high acid foods can eat away on your tooth enamel by changing the Ph level in your mouth. The process is called dental erosion.

And the sugar-free gums and candies aren't good for your dental health because even though some studies have shown that ingredients in these sugarless products can help prevent tooth decay, the good old manufacturers actually ADD preservatives and flavor enhancers back into the products that change the Ph balance in your mouth, making it more acidic, and you more prone to tooth decay.

A new study also shows that a modified version of Grandfather's strategy works as well. After eating some artificially sweetened or high acid foods, just swish your mouth out with water for 15-20 seconds. This washes away most of the tooth harming bad stuff and stimulates your mouth to make saliva, which also neutralizes the acid.

The sweetener xylitol is also better than sorbitol. Chew a stick of gum containing xylitol after eating and this can also help you to prevent cavities.

Source: http://news.menshealth.com/surprising-teeth-destroying-foods/2011/10/15/