Foods & drinks that can damage your teeth

These are some of the foodstuffs and dietary practices which raise a small or large red flag for teeth.

Refined and processed food

• sugar¹

• white flour⁸

Note: while it is true that sugar is a highly cariogenic (tooth-decay-causing) substance, it is equally true (and highly surprising and welcome) that there is a naturally occurring sugar that frequently has the opposite (anti-cariogenic/cariostatic) effect. See Xylitol, the dental miracle sugar.

Acidic/acidulous food

• vinegar and pickled foods
• sour fruits (oranges and other citrus fruit)
• unripe fruit

• fruit juices⁸

Concentrated natural sugars

• dried fruit
• honey
• syrups made from fruit, grains etc.⁸

Foods lacking a full complement and balanced spectrum of minerals and trace elements

For background, see On the importance of minerals and trace elements.

Foods containing phytic acid

More at Phytic acid in seeds, nuts, beans and grains and food mineral availability.

Extremely hard as well as icy foods

Depending on the breaking strength of your teeth, you may wish to be careful with hard items such as certain kernels and ice.

Raw food = healthy?

Interestingly, according to Frédéric Patenaude (an article by him on this site is Assimilable calcium from greens), a scientific study conducted in Germany on the health of raw-foodists showed that this section of the population develops more cavities and dental erosion than "normal" people, an observation confirmed by raw-food leaders/authors who noted that the dental health status of those adhering to a raw food diet is indeed deplorable. The reasons are not to do with raw food being damaging but with unwise food choices of raw foodists who tend to overindulge in dried fruits, acid fruit, dehydrated food  etc. while "underindulging" for instance in calcium-rich greens.

One-sided (imbalanced) “mono-diets” and extreme fasting

In my personal experience, teeth weakening (i.e. structural damage) can also be induced by eating for instance mostly whole-grain noodles for a while⁹, or radical prolonged fasting (such as 14 days) without adequate amounts of water. (On the other hand, properly conducted, fasting can induce dental and gum improvements and heal cavities and toothache.) So it would seem advisable to aim for a varied diet and (digestive capacity permitting) to go heavy on raw organic foods and seaweed (see "General recommendations" further down).

Suggestions how to minimize the damage from ingestion of the above food items

Apart from strict avoidance which demands a lot of discipline and may not be invariably wise (for instance apple cider vinegar apparently shows astounding health benefits when regularly consumed), here are several immediate ways to contain any damage to enamel:

• Rinse your mouth well after eating acidic or sticky food.
• Drink acidic drinks through a straw.
• When ingesting apple cider vinegar and water (and possibly honey) as a health drink, add baking soda to neutralize the acid (raise its pH to tooth-friendly levels).
• Rinse with an alkalinizing baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) solution afterwards.
• Rinse your mouth with (alkalinizing) (sea) salt.
• Thoroughly chew a stick of celery, a carrot, some green leaves etc. after "sinning". This helps to clean the teeth. It is also an excellent practice to adopt for one's last meal of the day in case it contained any tooth-unfriendly items.
• Brush teeth after meals but not immediately after ingestion of acidulous items (otherwise you are likely to scrape off precious minerals such as calcium from your somewhat softened enamel).
• Rinse your mouth with (herb-based) disinfectants or with special mouthwashs containing enamel-repairing hydroxyapatite.²
• Use an oral irrigator (waterpic etc.) or simply thoroughly slosh water in your mouth.

• More tips for avoiding damage to your teeth such as by overbrushing at General recommendations and advice re oral cleansing.

General (and important) recommendations

Follow a varied tooth-friendly, mineral-rich diet to the extent possible and go heavy on raw organic foods and seaweed while making sure your food agrees with you³. To allow better/proper absorption, chew well⁷,  only eat when hungry and in a peaceful, relaxed atmosphere. You also may wish to do internal cleanses such as liver, gallbladder and colon cleanses and if you feel drawn to it, work on your body's energy system to keep your juices "flowing" (I recommend EFT and Donna Eden's Energy Medicine books). Keep your immune system in shape by avoiding stress⁴ (or learning to handle it constructively) and regularly clean your teeth using natural, non-toxic cleaning agents⁵. Try to "compensate" any damage done to your teeth by regularly ingesting "superfoods"/natural supplements rich in trace elements resp. tooth-friendly alkalinising minerals.⁶

Footnotes

1  A discussion of more possible reasons speaking against indulging a sweet tooth eg at Sugar’s Health Effects, Risks & Problems: Is Sugar Sweet Poison?, Sugar and Cancer and  Sugar—A Silent Killer: An Extensive Discussion of the Sugars.

2 Compare for instance Products for remineralizing teeth and Herbal tooth and gum products.

3 Compare It’s not what you ingest, but what you usefully absorb

4 Compare Dr. Nara on Nutrition, immune system, tooth decay and gum problems, Emotions and tooth decay and Meditation for stress reduction benefits teeth and gums by triggering tooth-friendly salivary changes.

5 See Dental Care & Oral Hygiene.

6 For inexpensive sources compare for instance Mineral- and trace-element-rich foods. Also see Products for remineralizing teeth and enamel, reducing cavities and sensitivity.

7 Compare Dental health prerequisite number 5: proper mastication - exercise your teeth and gums by chewing well.

8 The reason why the intake of refined and processed foodstuffs such as sugar and white flour as well as acidic foods such as vinegar and sour fruits should be minimized or avoided to maintain tooth enamel strength, in a nutshell lies in the following: according to sources I find convincing, two factors, one structural, one nutritional, form the basis of tooth decay: structural weakness of teeth on the one hand (due to insufficient mineralization = lack of minerals) and attack by acids leaching out calcium on the other. Acids in their turn both stem from acidic foodstuffs but particularly are a byproduct of bacterial decomposition of food rests from refined edibles (white flour, sugar) and highly concentrated natural sugars (as found in dried fruit etc.). (For more details, compare for instance Tooth demineralisation - remineralisation, Dental glossary: toothache, dental and gingival pain and Dr. Herbert Shelton on the true causes of tooth decay.) Hence the overriding importance of cleaning and flushing out any and all food rests, and more particularly the prevention of plaque deposits (where germs colonize), compare Dental Care and Oral Hygiene.

9 Also compare Phytic acid in seeds, nuts, beans and grains and food mineral availability to see why whole-grain noodles can induce tooth weakening.

Sponsored Links

All Healing Teeth Naturally articles on nutrition and dental health