Keeping a good hygiene is the main factor that helps maintain great oral health, but there are other important aspects that have an influence as well. The importance of a right nutrition resides in its capability of giving the body the necessary nutrients to stay healthy and recover from any disease.

The importance of an early good nutrition

The consumption of nutrients at an early age guarantees the good health and formation of the teeth and gums. Since pregnancy, the mother must consume foods rich in fluorine, proteins, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium and phosphorus to help the baby develop healthy dental structures. The breast milk will provide the baby with the required nutrients once he’s born.

Later, when the children are in preschool and school ages they should consume dairy products that provide the necessary calcium and vitamin D to form healthy teeth.

Cavities and gum disease

With a deficient diet in which the necessary nutrients are not consumed, there exist more possibilities to develop gum diseases or cavities.

The apparition of cavities is directly associated with the feeding habits, as they often come as a product of the excessive consumption of foods rich in sugar, carbohydrates, and starches. These kinds of foods contribute to the production of acids of the plaque that attack the tooth enamel and can later cause the formation of a cavity.

In another hand, gum disease can’t be completely caused by a deficient nutrition, but it can be severe and its healing process can turn much longer due to this aspect. When the body absorbs healthy nutrients its capacity to fight infections grows.

Preventing cavities

In order to keep your teeth free from cavities, it’s essential to control the amount of sugar consumed. This isn’t about cutting off entirely food that contains sugar, because some of them also have other good and helpful nutrients, but just making sure to not exceed with their consumption.

It’s also very important to take in count that the longer the time that sugary foods stay in the mouth, bigger the risks of damaging the tooth enamel and developing a cavity growth. An example of this are candies, which are in contact with the teeth for more time than any other sweets, and therefore are more likely to develop damages. To prevent exposing the teeth to damaging acids for much time it’s recommended to consume sugar-free candies, eat these kinds of foods in company of the habitual meals of the day (when there’s more food to be ingested more saliva is produced to help the digestion process and to neutralize the acid that can damage the teeth) and to brush the teeth very well to wash away the remains of food.

Fluorine is a mineral that can be found in toothpaste, mouth rinses and some bubble gums that helps prevents cavities. But this mineral can also be found in some foods as green vegetables, potatoes, seafood, fish, water, chicken, breast milk, etc. Including these foods in your diet can help you prevent the apparition of cavities.