You see videos on TikTok and Instagram all the time about diet secrets. Not only do you need to worry about whether they actually work for weight loss, but some fads can cause oral health issues! Which diet trends are harmful for your smile? What can you do to protect your mouth while you shed weight? Read on to find out!
Juice Cleanses
You may find tons of juice cleanse recipes online, but this trend brings risks if you do it too often or for too many days in a row. For your mouth, juice cleanses often involve a lot of fruit, which generally has high levels of sugar and acid. Too much sugar encourages oral bacterial growth.
Raw Foods
Although having raw fruits and vegetables in your diet is beneficial for receiving fresh nutrients, some raw foods can harm your teeth and gums. For instance, too many nuts or seeds can put stress on your teeth, increasing the risk of cracks in enamel and shifting in alignment from getting hard pieces stuck between teeth.
Vegetarian or Vegan Diets
Regardless of the reason, having more vegetables and fruits may seem like a great idea, but meat and other animal products do come with some essential nutritional value you could lack if you start these types of diets, namely Vitamin D, B12, and calcium. Without these, your teeth and bones can become weaker and less able to fight infection and decay.
Small Meals
Instead of eating fewer large meals, this idea suggests that more frequent, small meals would be better for your waistline; however, your mouth needs time to reestablish its pH levels. Your saliva and water you drink rinse out and neutralize oral bacteria and the acids they produce. If you eat throughout the day, your mouth constantly remains in a vulnerable acidic and erosive state.
Keto Diet
Believe it or not, having no carbs at all can become a bad thing for your mouth. Although a starchy, sugary, and carb-heavy diet will welcome more cavities and gum disease, none at all can lead to bad breath. In fact, people on Keto often are told they have “Keto breath.”
Diet Pills
So many companies out there claim to have miracle pills that shed excess fat, but commercials often don’t discuss the side effects. In many weight loss pills, dry mouth is common, which leads to trouble for your smile. Diet pills can make it difficult for your body to produce mouth-protecting saliva, making it easier for cavities and other issues to form.
How to Care for Your Smile While Losing Weight
- Brush and floss your teeth twice for two minutes every day.
- Visit your dentist at least every six months for a checkup and professional cleaning.
- Eat a healthy, balanced diet in moderation. Feel free to have a little bit of sugar and carbs every now and then—just not too much.
- Wait 30 minutes after you eat or drink anything but water to brush.
- Have plenty of water throughout the day to keep your saliva production up.
- Consider taking vitamin supplements if you have not obtained enough from your food.
In the end, you can’t believe everything you find on social media. Your weight-loss journey should give you more energy, less pain, and a better quality of life, but it doesn’t have to rob you of your healthy mouth. If you make smart lifestyle choices, you can feel more confident and comfortable in your own skin and keep your smile strong.
About the Practice
Serving Westhampton Beach, East Moriches, East Quogue, Manorville, and Westhampton, Dr. Jason Parli and Dr. Alexis Gersten and the rest of the Beach Dental team are concerned about more than just everyone’s oral health. We look at our patients’ overall health and offer services and information that can help both! In addition to preventive care, we can perform advanced treatments like Invisalign, dental implant placement, and more. To schedule an appointment, call our office at 631-325-0731 or contact us online.