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Publication #FAR8062

 

How Nutrition Affects Oral Health 1

Karla P. Shelnutt2

Figure 1. 
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Going to the dentist to get a cavity filled is not a fun experience for adults or children. Dental work can be costly and occasionally painful. The good news is that there are good nutritional habits your family can practice to decrease the risk for cavities, also known as dental caries.

Eating a balanced diet will provide the nutrients necessary to keep teeth strong and healthy. For example, milk is not only a great source of calcium but decreases the risk for dental caries when consumed with foods. Also, limit the frequency of snacks and sweetened beverages between meals to decrease the number of times the bacteria in the oral cavity can produce acids that cause dental caries. If snacks are consumed, brush the teeth, rinse with water, or chew sugar-free gum to neutralize the acids formed by the bacteria.

Stay away from slowly dissolving, sugar-containing candies that remain in the mouth for a long period of time. Even healthy foods like dried fruits can promote dental decay because sticky foods remain on the teeth longer, so make sure your children brush after a sticky snack.

Incorporating these simple habits into the diet, in addition to keeping good oral hygiene by brushing and flossing and using fluoridated toothpaste, will help decrease the number of cavities and can potentially save your family pain and money. This can bring a smile to anyone's face.

Listening, learning, and living together: it's the science of life. "Family Album" is a co-production of University of Florida IFAS Extension, the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, and of WUFT-FM. If you'd like to learn more, please visit our website at http://www.familyalbumradio.org.

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Footnotes

1.

This document is FAR8061, one of a series of the Family Youth and Community Sciences Department, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Broadcast as program 464. Published February 2009. Reviewed March 2012. In the interest of time and/or clarity, the broadcast version of this script may have been modified. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Karla P. Shelnutt, BD, ENAES coordinator, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Nick T. Place, Dean.