Nutrition and Oral Health

If you practice poor oral hygiene and poor diet, the first signs will often show up in your oral health. If your diet is low in the proper nutrients your body needs, your mouth may have a more difficult time resisting infection. Poor nutrition affects the entire immune system, and people with lowered immune systems have been shown to be at a higher risk for periodontal disease. At the practice of Dr. Robert Ruyak, DMD, we can’t monitor what you eat, but we can explain how nutrition and oral health work together.

When we’re hungry, most of us tend to snack on empty calorie foods such as candy, sweets, and snack foods like chips. What we don’t realize is that these foods offer us no nutritional value, and because of the amount and type of sugar that these foods contain, they can adhere to teeth. The bacteria in your mouth feed off these sugars, releasing acids, and that’s what leads to tooth decay. When reaching for a snack, cheese, milk, plain yogurt, as well as fruits and vegetables are foods that may benefit tooth health thanks to their high amounts of calcium and other nutrients they provide. Fruits and vegetables are good choices for a healthy smile since they are high in water and fiber, which balance the sugars they contain and help to clean the teeth.

If you have further questions about how nutrition and oral health go hand-in-hand, give us a call. To learn more about services provided at the office, visit www.drrobertruyak.com for more information. To schedule an appointment with Dr. Robert Ruyak, DMD at his practice in Bethlehem, PA, call 610-861-0777.