Which healthy foods and drinks can be bad for your teeth?

Healthy eating is great, and a common goal for all of us – as it should be! But it’s not just sugary foods that pose a potential risk to your health. If you don’t keep an eye on things, these foodstuffs can have an impact on your dental health too. Now, we’re not saying that you can’t – for example – eat fresh fruit or drink green tea. But they can affect your teeth in surprising little ways when you have them on a regular basis, so it’s worth knowing all the facts!

With decades of experience to our name here at AP Smilecare, we offer a wide range of dental treatments to help keep your smile happy and healthy. So here’s a heads-up on the essentials from our experts!

 

Is eating fruit bad for your teeth?

They can be – it depends on which ones you’re eating! In general, fruit is rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that boost your immune system, protect against diseases, and support your overall health. It also provides dietary fibre, which you’re your digestion. However, some types of fruits can be surprisingly acidic or sugary, and this can start to affect your teeth and gums if you consume them in high enough quantities.

Top 5 most acidic fruits

  1. Lemons: pH 2.0 to 2.6
  2. Limes: pH 2.0 to 2.5
  3. Grapefruits: pH 3.0 to 3.8
  4. Oranges: pH 3.0 to 4.0
  5. Pineapples: pH 3.2 to 4.0

Grapefruits, oranges and lemons are known to be very acidic, which means they can easily damage your tooth enamel if you consume them in too high quantities. Generally, any more than one of each per day will start to heighten your risk of enamel erosion (although the limit is a bit higher for oranges – you can probably eat two or three of them per day before it would start to impact your dental health).

Figs, strawberries and mangoes, on the other hand, are high in natural sugars, which can have equally serious effects. While it’s true that they’re variously high in vitamins, great for your digestive system and can bring your body all sorts of other healthy advantages, you still need to eat them in moderation if you want to avoid lasting damage to your teeth.

The top 5 good fruits for your teeth

On the other hand, avocados, cranberries and raspberries are all known for being low in sugar, making them consistently safe bets for your healthy eating plans – or even if you just want a quick between-meals snack. A word of warning there though: we’re talking specifically about the unprocessed fruit itself, rather than concentrated juices, which tend to be artificially sweetened with high levels of sugar. So for maximum benefit and minimum risk to your teeth, it’s best to stick to fresh fruit!

The top 5 unhealthy foods for teeth

  1. Sugary sweets and confectionery
  2.  Soft drinks
  3. Sports drinks
  4. Crisps
  5. Fruit juices

Most of the items on that particular list probably don’t come as a surprise! Sweets and confectionery tend to be almost without exception high in sugar, which feeds bacteria in the mouth and leads to plaque buildup and tooth decay. Sticky sweets like toffees and gummy bears are particularly bad culprits as they can cling to teeth, increasing the risk of cavities.

Fizzy drinks on the other hand are acidic and high in sugar, which can erode tooth enamel and contribute to cavities. The acidity weakens enamel, and the sugar provides fuel for harmful bacteria. Crisps are a food that tend to take a lot of people by surprise in terms of their damage to teeth. Starchy and often greasy, they can stick to teeth and contribute to plaque formation and decay if not cleaned off promptly.

As for sports drinks and fruit drinks…

The flipsides of healthy drinks

Hot water and lemon juice is one of those morning drinks that’s seeing a resurgence recently. It’s being promoted by various healthy living blogs, and while it is indeed definitely an improvement over a sugary cup of tea, it’s probably not a great idea to rely too much on it for much the same reasons we stated above. Lemon juice has concentrated amounts of acid in it, which can damage your teeth in large quantities.

Green tea is another common resort for those looking to improve the healthy qualities of their morning beverages. However, if it’s a daily habit it can stain your teeth rather more easily than you might think! It’s not got quite the same level of risk as coffee, but the experts advise that you should drink it straight down when you consume it, rather than swishing it around your mouth.

Fruit juices and smoothies are drinks we’ve mostly covered above, so we won’t delve too much into their specifics. It’s easy to get tempted by a juicing diet with its promises of weight loss and overall health improvements, but don’t be fooled! Fruit juices are just as high in sugar and acids as their solid equivalents – sometimes even more so.

Sports drinks are another common culprit. Most brands of sports drinks rely heavily on their association with exercise to implicitly associate themselves with healthy living. Unfortunately, it’s very much the opposite; sports drinks are usually packed with the same levels of sugar that you’d find in any other fizzy drink.

It’s worth reiterating that we’re not saying you can never have these foods or drinks – just that they’re not quite as perfect as they first appear! Like anything else, they’re just best consumed in moderation. At APSmilecare, we’re staffed by an expert team of dental health professionals, and we’re passionate about the smiles we look after. You can click here to see our full range of dental treatments, or call us on 01254 297 000 to book an appointment. We’re here to help!