Table of contents:
- Vegetables and fruits that can make mouth and teeth healthy
- 1. Apples
- 2. The citrus family
- 3. Celery
- 4. Carrots
- 5. Green vegetables
- 6.The berry family (berries)
Maintaining healthy teeth and mouth is not enough just by brushing your teeth and gargling. If you still frequently eat sugary foods and drink sugary drinks, all your efforts to care for healthy teeth can be wasted. Instead, try these five fruit and vegetable choices when the “terror” of sweet cravings starts haunting you. Yes! Fruits and vegetables not only help maintain a healthy body from within, but also help you have a healthy mouth and teeth. What are they?
Vegetables and fruits that can make mouth and teeth healthy
1. Apples
Apples are high in fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants that can maintain overall body health and prevent you from various diseases, including heart disease and pancreatic cancer.
The benefits of apples don't stop there. Eating one apple a day can keep your mouth and teeth healthy thanks to its vitamin C content. Vitamin C plays an important role in the production of collagen to form strong gum tissue. Adequate vitamin C intake can protect you from canker sores, bleeding gums, and gum infection (periodontitis).
Eating one apple every day can also help clean dental plaque as well as increase saliva which can neutralize acid left over food in the mouth that causes various dental problems, such as cavities.
2. The citrus family
Just like apples, the citrus family is also high in vitamin C and fiber which can maintain the health of your mouth and teeth. Lack of vitamin C can make you prone to thrush and bleeding gums. Vitamin C deficiency is rare, but many active smokers experience it.
Vitamin C is also an antioxidant that can help prevent tooth and gum damage caused by free radicals from burning tobacco and cigarette smoke that you inhale. So, there is no harm in snacking on oranges to help maintain healthy teeth, especially if you smoke.
3. Celery
Even though it tastes bland, you shouldn't underestimate celery. The abundant nutritional content of celery helps reduce inflammation in the body, lowers blood pressure, and reduces the risk of cancer, as summarized from Medical News Today.
Celery can also help you have a healthy mouth and teeth. The hard texture of celery sticks when chewed can stimulate the salivary glands to produce more saliva to neutralize the acids produced by oral bacteria. In addition, the hard texture also helps strip plaque and stubborn food debris between the teeth that can rot and cause cavities. Celery also helps improve gum health.
4. Carrots
The benefits of carrots which are rich in vitamin A and antioxidants are not only for eye health. Your teeth and mouth will also thank you if you are diligent in eating carrots. Eating one stick of raw carrots can help increase saliva production, just like eating one stick of celery.
When saliva production increases, the risk of cavities decreases because saliva helps flush out the acids that stick to the teeth. Carrots are also a vegetable that is rich in vitamin C, so carrots can help maintain gum health. Uniquely, you will get more of the vitamin C content of carrots when eaten in raw form.
5. Green vegetables
Green vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, and pakcoy are rich in calcium which helps form tooth enamel. Enamel is the outer layer of teeth, so stronger tooth enamel can help maintain better dental health.
Folic acid and B vitamins contained in green vegetables also help reduce inflammation and treat gum disease.
6.The berry family (berries)
Berries, such as strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and cranberries are high in anthocyanin antioxidants that help fight free radicals that cause various diseases, as well as against premature aging.
Not only protects the body from disease, anthocyanins also help prevent plaque and bacteria from sticking to teeth. Anthocyanins inhibit the action of enzymes produced by bacteria so that they can stick to the surface of the teeth, which can eventually damage the teeth. As a result, the risk of cavities can be avoided with the help of berries.
Well, did you know that apart from the fruit ending in -berry, the berry family also includes watermelon, banana, pumpkin, avocado, tomato, cucumber, grapes, and eggplant.
Eating fruits and vegetables that are on this list can help you keep your mouth and teeth healthy, but still don't forget to be diligent about brushing and flossing twice every day!
