Keeping Your Teeth in Mind!

1.Fluorides: Adequate intake of calcium, phosphorus, fluoride and vitamins A, C, and D are essential. Most of these are present in adequate amounts in the normal balanced diet. Only fluorides tends to be deficient and needs to be supplemented. Teeth containing fluoride are definitely more resistant to decay. 2.Carbohydrates: There is a definite relationship between caries (tooth decay) and the intake of refined carbohydrates like flour,

sugar, and other carbohydrates which have been treated in order to make them whiter, less fibrous and tastier.Refined

carbohydrates become sticky quickly and cling to the teeth for long periods. They are easily broken down to acids by the bacteria in the mouth, these acids are primarily responsible for tooth decay.The best would therefore be to stick to natural unprocessed foods-fats, cereals, meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits and cheese. The sugar substitutes like saccharin also do not cause caries. 3.Other Foodstuffs: Frequent consumption of acidic foodstuffs (like habitual drinking of carbonated drinks and excessive consumption of some fruit juices) is associated with erosions of the teeth. It is also suggested that one should end meals with fibrous foods such as carrots and other salads as fibrous foods might have a mild cleansing reaction as they remove food debris from the teeth.