They say that what you eat is what you are. And it can’t be visible in any better place than your teeth. This is because certain foods and drinks can lead to plaque damaging your teeth seriously. Plaque is a sticky film filled with bacteria that helps to decay and contribute to gum disease. Following a sugar snack or meal, the sugars can expel bacteria from the enamel of the tooth. Cavities can form when the enamel breaks down.

According to most of the researches conducted on oral health, cavities are the most common chronic disease facing people aged 6 to 20 years. Complications, such as discomfort, difficulty chewing, and tooth abscess are induced. Your plaque will harden and turn into tartar if you do not brush or floss your teeth. Tartar over the gums can lead to an early gum disease called gingivitis.

In addition to healthful eating, oral health problems can be prevented by practicing good oral hygiene, such as brushing teeth with fluoridated toothpaste twice a day, flossing once a day, drinking fluoridated water, and seeking regular oral health care.

Good Food For Your Oral Health:

Fiber-rich foods:
Leafy vegetables other high fiber foods promote good digestion and healthy cholesterol levels, and they also do wonders for your teeth—mostly because they require a lot of chewing. Eating a bowl of spinach or beans is a bit like running your teeth through a car wash: All that chewing generates saliva, and the food itself physically scrubs your teeth as it’s mashed up into little pieces.

Cheese, milk, and other dairy products: 
Cheese is another creator of saliva. Instead of other ingredients, the calcium in cheese, and the calcium and phosphates in milk and other dairy products help bring back minerals that your teeth may have lost. They also aid in reconstructing tooth enamel.

Green & black tea: 
They both contain polyphenols that associate with plaque bacteria. They either kill or hold back bacteria. This prevents the growth of bacteria or the production of acid that attacks the teeth. Depending on the type of water you use to brew your tea, a cup of tea can also be a source of fluoride.

Sugarless chewing gum: 
This is another great producer of saliva that eliminates food particles from your mouth.

Fluoride food: 
Fluorinated drinking water, or any product you make with fluorinated water, protects your teeth. This includes powdered juices (as long as they do not contain a lot of sugar) and dehydrated soups. Fluoride may also be produced by commercially processed foods, such as poultry products, seafood, and powdered cereals.

Carrots:
Carrots are crunchy and full of fiber. Eating a handful of raw carrots at the end of the meal increases saliva production in your mouth, which reduces your risk of cavities. Along with being high in fiber, carrots are a great source of vitamin A.

Celery:
Celery might get a bad reputation for being bland, watery, and full of those pesky strings, but like carrots, it acts a bit like a toothbrush, scraping food particles and bacteria away from your teeth. It’s also a good source of vitamins A and C, two antioxidants that give the health of your gums a boost. Make celery even tastier by topping it with cream cheese.

Water:
Saliva is made up of 99.5% water. Dehydration can thicken your saliva, which wreaks havoc in the mouth. Optimum levels of water in your saliva are essential to the breakdown of food, neutralizing bacterial acid, and preventing tooth decay. Water reduces plaque by rinsing away food debris. Rinsing with water after drinking coffee or having other staining foods can help reduce staining to the teeth.

Chewing Gum:
Chewing gum can help prevent tooth decay, as long as you choose sugarless gum. Chewing sugar-free gum after meals and snacks can help rinse off and neutralize the acids released by the bacteria in plaqueChewing gum causes your mouth to produce more saliva, which helps neutralize and rinse away some of the acids that form in your mouth when you break down food.

Foods To Avoid For Your Teeth Health:

Citrus Food:
Citrus fruits and juice a rich source of and other nutrients—are good for you in many ways, but not when it comes to your teeth. Lemon juice, in particular, is highly acidic and can erode tooth enamel over time. 

Candies:
The stickier the candy, the worse it tends to be for your teeth. Extra-chewy candies—like taffy, caramels, or Jujyfruits—stick to (and between) teeth for a long time, allowing the bacteria in our mouths to feast leisurely on the deposited sugar. “Bacteria burns sugar to make acid, which dissolves the protective layer of tooth enamel and causes cavities

Bread:
When you chew bread, your saliva breaks down the starches into sugar. Now transformed into a gummy paste-like substance, the breadsticks to the crevices between teeth. And that can cause cavities. When you’re craving some carbs, aim for less-refined varieties like whole wheat. These contain less added sugars and aren’t as easily broken down.

Carbonated Drinks:
Drinking large quantities of carbonated soda could be as damaging to your teeth. Carbonated sodas enable plaque to produce more acid to attack tooth enamel. So if you sip soda all day, you’re essentially coating your teeth in acid. Plus it dries out your mouth, meaning you have less saliva. And last but not least, dark-colored sodas can discolor or stain your teeth.

Chips:
The crunch of a potato chip is eternally satisfying to many of us. Unfortunately, they’re loaded with starch, which becomes sugar that can get trapped in and between the teeth and feed the bacteria in the plaque. Since we rarely have just one, the acid production from the chips lingers and lasts a while. After you’ve gorged on a bag, floss to remove the trapped particles.

Coffee:
Stubborn brown stains that grow inside a cup of coffee? They’ll give you an idea of how coffee drinking can stain your teeth over time. Coffee stains tend to be much more persistent than tobacco stains. According to a comparison of the two forms of stain, the coffee-stained teeth were more resistant to toothbrushing and more likely to discolor after treatment with bleaching. Besides being unsightly, teeth with strong coffee stains appear to be sticky and likely to attract food particles and bacteria.

Teeth and Gum Care Tips:

These are some basic tips for caring for teeth and gums:

• Brush your teeth regularly. Brush at least twice a day and preferably 30-60 minutes after every meal and snack.
• Use fluoride-containing toothpaste.
• Floss at least once a day.
• Use a mouth rinse daily.
• Visit your dentist regularly for check-ups and cleanings — typically twice a year.
• Eat fewer foods containing sugars and starches between meals. If you must snack, choose nutritious foods, such as cheese, raw vegetables, plain yogurt, or a firm fruit
• Think about chewing sugarless gum afterward to increase saliva flow and wash out food and acid.
• Drink more water. Fluoridated water can help prevent tooth decay. If you choose bottled water, check the label for the fluoride content.