You might be seeing a lot of patients coming into your teeth whitening clinics who are attempting to overhaul their image for the new year. For many people, this includes going on a diet, whether they want to shed their Christmas pounds or transform their body in 2016.
Here are some tips to remember to give for all those on a health kick.
- Healthy foods have sugar too
They might have ditched fizzy drinks, chocolates and sweets for their new lifestyle, but that does not mean healthy foods do not contain sugar as well. For instance, both fresh and dried fruit are packed with natural sugars that can cause serious damage to teeth if eaten in a large quantity.
Dried fruit is particularly dangerous, as a lot can be eaten without a second thought, meaning you end up consuming far more than fresh fruit. What’s more, as it is sticky, it ends up staying on your teeth for longer, so it’s important to brush after eating your healthy snack.
- Avoid acidic foods
Citrus fruit can be particularly damaging to teeth, so it wise to advise patients to limit how many oranges, limes or lemons they eat, even if they are trying to get in their five a day. The acid in citrus erodes tooth enamel, so your teeth are more likely to decay with time.
The same goes with anything that is pickled including vegetables, as well as fizzy drinks – even the diet varieties – as the acid in these is extremely high.
- Be careful with what you chew
You shouldn’t just advise patients on what to eat, but how they should be eating. People who are developing a habit of crunching on ice as a way to fill them up for longer, for instance, could harm their teeth. By damaging the enamel, they are taking away the tooth’s natural protection against sugar and acids from other foods.
Additionally, anything that can get stuck in your teeth – from peanut butter to sugar-free jelly – means the food is left to react with teeth enamel for longer, causing more damage over time.
While you should encourage anyone who comes into the clinic to maintain their new health regime, don’t forget to tell them to look after their teeth as well as their figures.
