Your “teeth” are what you eat

One of the most essential aspects for maintaining one’s health is quality nutrition. Good food aids the body to maintain its energy levels and hence it goes without saying, you will not make it through the day if you don’t eat!

Our body is a very intricate machine. What we consume within our body can have a direct effect on our general and oral health.
Bad Eating habits can have a major effect on our gums and teeth. For instance, eating food with high amounts of sugar content or eating carbohydrate rich food throughout the day can cause tooth decay or accelerate pre existing tooth decay. On the other hand, eating food and drinking beverages that have great nutritional value can improve the overall health of our teeth and gums.

A well balanced, nutritious diet is very important for oral health and overall general well-being. The food we eat helps to supply essential nutrients to the body, bones, teeth and gums which in turn leads to renewal of the tissues in the oral cavity and helps to fight infections including but not limited to periodontitis.
Nutritious food or beverages should contain a good amount of vitamins and minerals essential for our body.
Calcium is a very good example, it is mainly required for the synthesis of collagen. It also aids in hardening tooth enamel and strengthening the jaws.

Vitamin D is responsible for a number of important functions in our body. It aids in the absorption of minerals including calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphate, and zinc in the intestines. Clinical studies have suggested that deficiency of vitamin D leads to periodontal inflammation and a delay in post-surgical periodontal healing.

Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin that is considered one of the key extracellular antioxidants. Vitamin E stabilizes the membrane structure by terminating the free radical reaction.

B vitamins play an essential role in cell metabolism, repair, and reproduction. Deficiency of B vitamins results in a number of diseases and symptoms including oral mucosal lesions like angular cheilitis, glossitis as well as other skin diseases. Likewise, Vitamin B12 and vitamin C deficiency is known to be associated with gingival bleeding.

To summarize, we are truly what we eat. Fast food, high fat diets, excess carbohydrate and sugar intake can have serious health repercussions.

A poor diet that lacks the above mentioned micronutrients, can contribute to gum diseases, tooth decay and other metabolic diseases in the body including obesity, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and could extend to oral cancer in some cases.