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How Types of Drinks Affect Oral Health
Chances are, you know that regularly brushing and flossing have a huge impact on your oral health, but did you know the foods and drinks you consume have a huge impact as well? At WGM Orthodontics, we strive to help you achieve a gorgeous new smile through quality orthodontic treatment. As it turns out, what you drink has a lot more to do with that than you think.
The Good, the Bad, and the Sugary
As a general rule of thumb, any drink that is acidic or sugary will be bad for your teeth. Acid wears down and softens the protective outer enamel of teeth, while sugar combines with bacteria to produce other corrosive acids in the mouth that eat away at teeth.
Accordingly, it’s not surprising that the most acidic, sugary and carbonated drinks – soft drinks – take most of the guilt for harming teeth. However, soft drinks are far from the only drink that harms teeth.
While sports drinks are often billed as healthy and can be helpful when you’re sweating heard, they don’t serve much nutritional value and are often packed with sugar. This means they can wreak havoc on teeth, producing acids that corrode enamel and eventually cause cavities. The same is true of many brands of bottled lemonade – they carries so much sugar that they are just as bad, if not worse, than soda.
Keep it Clear
Whats the healthiest drink for your teeth? Simple: Water.
Water cleans the mouth as you drink it, cleaning away food particles and acids, and helping to protect the teeth. In addition to water, low fat milk can also help build up calcium, which helps strengthen your tooth enamel.
Contact Your Morehead, KY Orthodontist
So how can you protect your teeth with your drink choices? It’s simple: say no to soda, sports drinks and anything sugary or acidic. Instead, gulp down some water or low-fat milk. Being cautious about what you drink like this, helps to prevent the build up of acids that cause cavities, safeguarding your teeth for years to come. If you have any specific questions about which drinks to drink and which not to, we’d love to hear from you – just reach out to our closest location. We can’t wait to hear from you!