Worst Foods for your Teeth

Sometimes, tooth decay comes as a surprise to patients. They brush and floss regularly, they come in for their routine cleaning every 6 months. Suddenly, on a normal exam day, there’s a cavity.

The foods you eat can have a huge affect on your oral health. Try to stay away from these foods if you’re trying to improve the health of your teeth.

Foods to Avoid Eating

Citrus

While oranges, grapefruit, and lemons all have great health benefits, the acid can be a bit much for your tooth enamel and will cause it to deteriorate, leaving your teeth susceptible to cavities. If you’re snacking on an orange, make sure to drink water afterwards or go brush your teeth. This will ensure the acid doesn’t stick around on your teeth after you’re finished eating.

Syrups

Refined sugary syrups are the worst for your teeth. Next time you’re going for a short stack, load it up with fresh fruit with a little honey instead to help keep your teeth bright and clean.

Chewy & Sour Candy

Refined sugar isn’t great for your teeth anyways, but the chewy sour kind is the worst! It gets stuck in your teeth and contributes to quicker erosion than other candy. If you can’t deny your sweet tooth, stay away from things like caramel.

Sports Drinks

You’ve probably heard that sodas are terrible for your teeth, but sports drinks are almost worse. They’re high in acid, sugar, and artificial colors, making them a triple threat to your teeth.

When in doubt, keep some sugarless gum on you. If you’re out and want to binge on some snacks that aren’t dental friendly, just drink a glass of water afterwards and pop in a piece of sugarless gum. That should tide you over until your next brushing!