Wednesdays with Whitney: Nutrition and Oral Health

Have you heard about PRFC’s Smile pack program?! This got me thinking about the relationship between nutrition and oral health.

A few key take-aways about nutrition and oral health:

1. What you eat plays a role in the overall health of your mouth (teeth, gums, etc.) and the health of your mouth affects the foods you eat (nutrients you get).

   1. Think about how the foods you eat make your mouth feel (a sugary coating, for example, sensitivity to cold, acidic burn on the gums with something carbonated…)

   2. Think about how your food choices might be limited by missing teeth or sore gums. Are you able to chew as well or bite into an apple?

2. More sugar = higher risk for tooth decay/dental caries

   1. Just another reason to limit your sugar intake (did you know it is recommended to limit added sugar to less than 6 teaspoons per day?).

   2. Tooth decay is the most common chronic disease in childhood; the catch—it is preventable.

   3. Brush those teeth before bed and at least one other time during the day!

3. We are learning more and more about the potential relationship between heart and gum disease. Your risk of heart disease (having a stroke, heart attack, or cardiovascular event) is two to three times higher if you have gum disease.

   1. Think inflammation and its impact on our whole body.