Your body is a remarkable example of self-regulation in action. When we give it what it needs and protect it from harm, it keeps itself in balance, constantly making small adjustments to keep everything running smoothly. When the body senses that something is off, it automatically makes corrections to bring things back to normal.
This can be seen in miniature in the mouth, where saliva responds to various needs in an effort to maintain oral health. When conditions turn acidic – from drinking a soda, for instance – saliva buffers the acids to maintain a neutral pH level and a healthy balance of bacteria. Saliva also delivers minerals to your teeth to replace what’s lost to wear and tear.
But let’s say you don’t get enough of the right minerals in your diet or the right vitamins and other co-factors to ensure that they go to the right places, remineralization may not happen as well as it normally would. If you don’t get enough water each day, you may not produce enough saliva for it to perform its many other tasks.
There are also things you can consume that can interfere with these processes. Some pharmaceutical drugs, for instance, can cause dry mouth. Sipping on soft drinks, fruit juices, or other sugary and acidic drinks through the day can overwhelm the buffering capacity of saliva.
Your risk of decay and gum disease go up – along with the systemic health problems they’ve been linked with.
Ultimately, a healthy mouth is one with a neutral pH and more helpful bacteria than harmful. The number one thing you can do to maintain this state of affairs is to eat a nutrient-dense diet based on whole foods that’s low in added sugars and other fermentable carbohydrates.
This distinction is important, for not all carbs are created equal. Vegetables, fruit, beans, legumes, nuts, and whole grains all contain carbs. The trouble starts when such wholesome foods are overly processed, converted into forms that the body will quickly digest as sugars.
Foods made from highly refined grains and starches are the biggest villains. Think pasta, bread, and other baked goods. Think potatoes turned into chips and fries, or corn pulverized and burst into cheese puffs and other savory snacks. Think breakfast cereals.
These are what the dental world calls “fermentable carbs” – sugars and starches that oral bacteria can easily consume and turn into acid. That, along with the bacteria’s metabolic waste, dissolves tooth enamel.
That’s exactly why we advise limiting or even avoiding them altogether as an important first step toward cleaning up your diet. It’s right up there with avoiding sugary, acidic drinks, from soda and fruit juice to tea-based drinks to your favorite Starbucks concoction.
And here’s the beautiful thing: If you simultaneously include more nutrient-dense foods, you’ll miss the fermentable carbs a lot less. The others will fill you up. It becomes a virtuous cycle.
Give your body what it needs; protect it from harm. That’s the core of staying healthy – mouth, mind, and body. All the rest is detail, and we can help you with that when you come in for your regular exams and cleanings. We can help you develop a customized lifestyle plan to support whole body health through optimal oral health, based on your own goals, values, and needs.
