To take proper care of your smile, you know that you should brush your teeth twice daily, floss at least once per day and visit your dentist twice a year. But did you know that you can do a few other things at home to ensure your oral health?

In a previous blog, we mentioned five easy goals for healthier teeth. One of those goals included eating fibre-rich foods each day. These foods stimulate saliva production, strengthening your enamel and clearing away loose food particles.

But fibre-rich foods aren’t the only foods you can consume to improve your oral health. Below, you’ll find a list of five different foods you can eat and drink to maintain a healthy smile.

1. Sugar-Free Sweets
Sugary sweets are enticing little snacks you might eat a few times a day. However, bacteria in your mouth feed on the sugars these candies leave in your mouth. Once they consume the sugars, the bacteria produce an acid which causes your enamel to demineralise, resulting in cavities.

Try eating sugar-free sweets, including mints and chewing gum. These treats have similar flavours to sugary candies, but you can consume them without the added risk of developing cavities.

2. Dairy Products
Calcium and vitamin D promote strong teeth and bones, so you’ll want to regularly consume dairy products to keep your smile healthy and sturdy. Since vitamin D and calcium strengthen your teeth, you reduce your risk for tooth loss (and bone loss in the jaw) if you eat dairy products each day. Consider the following foods:

• Buttermilk
• Cheese
• Cottage cheese
• Cream
• Cream cheese
• Milk
• Yoghurt

You can even find calcium-fortified juices and drinks, as well as nuts (such as almonds) at your local shopping centre. If you don’t prefer the taste or texture of certain dairy products.

3. Crisp Fruits and Vegetables
As previously mentioned, fibre-rich foods add to your overall oral health. Most fibre-rich foods are crisp fruits and vegetables, such as apples, pears, carrots, celery and other similar foods. But crisp fruits and vegetables do more than increase your mouth’s saliva production.

Crunchy foods, like those listed above, also clean the plaque from your teeth and freshen your breath as a result. The more crunchy foods you eat (in conjunction with regular flossing and brushing), the less damaging plaque you’ll have on your teeth-and the fewer bad-breath-causing bacteria you’ll have in your mouth.

4. Leafy Greens
Leafy greens contain high levels of vitamins and minerals your teeth need to stay strong. Additionally, these foods are relatively low in calories, so you can eat as many leafy greens as you want without adding to your waistline. Leafy greens are rich in calcium and folic acid, providing you with multiple health benefits.

Try the following leafy greens in your salads, soups or main courses the next time you prepare a meal:

• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Chard
• Kale
• Lettuces
• Spinach
• Turnip and beet greens

If you don’t like the texture of leafy greens, add some to your morning smoothie. Just remember to add at least one serving of the greens so you can experience the health benefits they provide.

Boost your overall oral health, and eat some of the foods listed above. Whether you eat these foods plain or in a meal, you’ll still reap the same benefits and keep your teeth in good condition. For more tips and advice about maintaining a healthy smile, read through our other blog posts.

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