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Don't Let Dieting Impact Your Oral Health

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Don't Let Dieting Impact Your Oral Health

Like many people who need to lose a few pounds, I try diet after diet in an attempt to find one that finally works for me. I learned the hard way that I need to make sure any diet will not harm my teeth, even if it does help me lose a few pounds. I learned this lesson when following a grapefruit diet. There are many versions of this, but the version I tried had me eat a grapefruit alone several times each day. It was supposed to suppress my appetite. I helped keep me from munching on unhealthy snacks, but the acid in the fruit took a toll on my tooth enamel and I quickly started getting lots of cavities. I created this blog to remind people that change up their diets often to make sure the foods they are eating are not harming their teeth.

3 Fun & Simple Snacks That Will Improve Your Kids' Oral Health

22 July 2015
 Categories: Dentist, Blog

Making sure your kids eat nutritious foods is a priority for most parents. But, did you know you can enhance your children's oral health with the snacks you prepare for them, too? The following are 3 simple and fun snacks you can make your children that will help their oral health. 

1. The Cucumber & Cheese Snack

All you have to do is place a small amount of cheese over a thin cucumber slice. The reason this snack helps to enhance your children's oral health is because of the cheese. Studies have shown that cheese can increase the pH value in your children's mouth because it increases salivation. Cheese also contains several ingredients, like calcium, which should help your children's teeth remineralize.

2. Tropical Snack

All you have to do is make a pineapple-infused custard and cut up apples into slices. Or, you can cut the apples into fry-like slices to be creative. 

Apples contain malic acid, which help increase salivation. Your saliva has enzymes that help break down stains and kill stain-causing bacteria. Apples are also abrasive and should help scrape stains and food particles from your teeth. Pineapples, on the other hand, contain an active ingredient called bromelain. Bromelain helps halt the production of bacterial biofilm altogether. So your kids' teeth should look great after eating this snack a few times.

3. The Sweet and Crunchy Green

To make this particular snack, just toss small broccoli florets in olive oil, and bake them for 16 to 20 minutes at 425 degrees or until crispy.

You can add seasonings to them if you want. But since you are going to be dipping them in raw honey, that step is not necessary. Raw honey is the key to this snack because it contains enzymes that help halt the reproduction of oral pathogens. Raw honey will also help dehydrate the cavity-causing bacteria to death due to its highly osmotic nature. You can purchase raw honey from your local health food store or a local bee farm. 

Remember that all of the dental-friendly ingredients mentioned earlier are only meant to aid your children's oral health. These ingredients are not meant to cure any dental ailments--leave that to your family dentist. But at least your children will help prevent stained teeth, tooth sensitivity, cavities, and other dental problems with healthy snacks. Talk with a place like Comfort Dental for more nutritious snack ideas or for more oral health tips.