15 Foods That Harm Your Teeth

Are you wrecking your teeth without even knowing it? According to experts, when you suck a lemon or your thumb, you are harming your pearly white teeth. Even when you bite your rigid fingernails, it creates havoc for your teeth.

But what about fruit? Do they harm your teeth as well? Here are some of the things that harm your teeth. These foods cause the enamel to rub off too. You may have probably heard that brushing and flossing twice a day is the best way to keep your teeth healthy. Though it is good, too much of it can also cause bleeding and swollen gums.

Therefore, gargling your mouth after every meal is the safest and first step to keeping your teeth clean and healthy. The foods that are bad for your teeth get settled in the small gaps between each tooth.

Over a period of time, due to lack of regular flossing and cleaning, these deposits from the bad foods push the teeth apart from each other. When the teeth come apart, you will begin to develop oral problems.Keeping your teeth clean is a must. These things that harm your teeth should be avoided as much as possible.

Ice

Chewing on hard substances such as ice can leave your teeth vulnerable. Chewing on ice will also lead to damaging the enamel.

Citrus Fruits

Regular consumption of citrus fruit drinks are harmful for your pearly whites. The acid present in these foods will erode enamel, making teeth more susceptible to decay over a few months.

Coffee

Frequent consumption of coffee and tea stains the teeth. To remove the stain from the enamel, you need to use a whitener. This whitener is not good for the teeth as it often leads to decay and loose gums.

Sticky Yummy Foods

The food that harms your teeth is the one that contains a sticky substance. Sticky foods damage your teeth as they tend to stay on the teeth longer than other types of non-sticky foods.

Tasty Crunchy Foods

Who doesn't love the nice crunch of a potato chip? However, this bag of potato chips is filled with starch that gets trapped in your teeth and settles as deposits. These deposits lead to tooth decay.

Bubbly Soda

Most carbonated soft drinks are acidic in nature which is bad for your teeth. Regular consumption of soft drinks can lead to a high risk of developing rotten teeth.

Alcohol

People who are alcoholics usually don't have a perfect set of teeth. It is only because this food damages the teeth to a great extent. Excessive drinking will lead to tooth decay and other oral infections. Over a period of time, heavy consumption increases risk of mouth cancer.

Those Sports Drink

Sports and energy drinks are trendy to drink when working out. But the presence of high amount of sugar in it can ruin your beautiful smile.

Throat Lozenges

Popping in lozenges to get rid of a bad sore throat will only set you up for tooth decay. Continually sucking on these soothing lozenges containing a high level of sugar will contribute to tooth decay.

Apples

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but the acid present in the apple might keep your dentist on speed dial. These healthy fruits contain high acid that reacts badly with the enamel.

Pickles

Pickle damages teeth as it contains vinegar, which is acidic, and often has sugar too. The soaked vegetables in pickles are healthy, but the brine can damage your teeth.

Bread

The processed white breads contain added sweeteners. If you fail to rinse your mouth after eating a sandwich, the sweeteners will breed mouth bacteria.

Jam/ Jelly

Jelly or jam is one of the bad foods for your teeth. It is loaded with sugar and is quite sticky. Consuming jam or jelly will encourage plaque and bacteria if you fail to rinse after eating.

Salads

The salad dressing may be considered healthy for your body but not for your teeth. The salad dressings contain vinegar and sugar for flavour that can ruin your teeth over a period of time.

Meat

One of the worst foods for your teeth is meat. The meat tends to get stuck between your teeth and if not removed, it will promote tooth decay. Some meat products also contain sugar as a preservative which is bad for your pearly whites.