Vitamins and Minerals You Need for Good Oral Health

Supplementing your diet with calcium and vitamins is not only necessary to prevent bone loss but it also improves your tooth retention but, along with routine dental care and good oral hygiene. Studies show that too much or too little of any of any of the nutrients can cause harmful effects on your mouth and teeth. To stay in good shape, your teeth and gums too need certain Vitamins and nutrients as well. It is so because your mouth is the gateway to your body. And if your mouth is unhealthy there is every possibility that your body can also be.

What are the different minerals and vitamins that we need to keep our mouth healthy?

Our routine diet should be rich in nutrients and incorporate lots fruits and vegetables in order to keep our mouth healthy. Proper supplementation of below mentioned vitamins and minerals can make our gums and teeth healthy:

Vitamin A: Vitamin A is often associated with good eyesight and clear and healthy skin; but it is also important for the development of tooth and healthy tooth enamel. It also helps maintaining healthy mucous membranes and salivary flow in the mouth. Vitamin A keeps your gums healthy and helps in healing gum infection or inflamed gum tissues. Beef, liver, milk, cheese, eggs, fish & egg yolks are the good source of Vitamin A. Moreover orange and yellow foods like; carrots, mangoes & sweet potatoes and dark leafy greens such as kale & spinach are rich sources of beta-carotene, which the body converts into Vitamin A for its use.

Vitamin B3 (niacin): Lack of Vitamin B3 can lead to bad breath and canker sores in the mouth. To heighten your B3 levels, consume chicken and fish.

Vitamin B12 and B2 (riboflavin): Deficiency of Vitamins B2 and B12 can develop sores in the gums, tongue and other soft tissues in the mouth and can also make your  gingivitis more serve. Red meat, chicken, liver, pork, fish as well as dairy products like milk, yogurt & cheese, bagels, spinach & almonds are the riche sources of Vitamin B2 and B12.

Vitamin C:  You need to have strong gums for strong teeth. Vitamin C is necessary for the health of corrective tissue and collagen in your gums. Lack of Vitamin C can cause swollen and bleeding gums, scurvy and loose tooth. Its deficiency can make any of your gums issues even worse. This vitamin is needed for bone strength and also helps to repair and maintain teeth. Citrus fruits, strawberries, bell pepper, broccoli and sweet potatoes, are good sources of Vitamin C. When Vitamin C is taken with bioflavonoid it prevents the formation of plaque around the teeth.

Vitamin D:  Vitamin D helps to fight against the tooth decay. Vitamin D also helps your body to consume calcium. Deficiency or lack of Vitamin D leads to burning mouth syndrome. Milk, egg, fish, cod liver oil are the good sources of Vitamin D.

Vitamin E: Vitamin E is a powerful anti-oxidant which helps in healing of mouth tissues and decreases the soreness of gums during infant teething. Foods like; sunflower seeds, turnip green, tomato paste and peanut butter are the good sources of Vitamin E.

Calcium: Sufficient amount of dietary calcium is needed to keep your teeth in good shape. You need to understand that if its levels are low it gets reabsorbed into bloodstream but put back into bones only when levels are higher. As your jaws and teeth are mostly made up of calcium, your risk developing gum diseases and tooth decay in its deficiency becomes higher. Calcium also helps to prevent osteoporosis, which can cause bone fractures and weak bone tissues around the teeth. Dairy products like; milk, cheese, yogurt are the best sources of calcium, you can also get it from beans, oysters, sardines, canned salmon, green leafy vegetables, cauliflower, cabbage, almonds and fortified orange juice and soy milk.

Phosphorus and Iron: Deficiency of iron can cause your tongue inflamed and sores can develop inside your mouth. You can get sufficient amount of iron from foods like; liver, red meat, bran cereals, some nuts and spices as well. Phosphorus together with calcium makes most of our teeth and bones. 85% of Phosphorus is found in our bones and teeth.

Contact Dr. Sikander Singh DMD for any of your oral health related issues. We will help you fight back and prevent any oral health related issues and help you retain pearly smile using the state-of-art techniques and technologies.

Dental Tips to Prevent Baby Bottle Tooth Decay

Care of teeth should start at a young age so that your children could enjoy a good oral health for a life time. Number of problems can affect the oral health of your child including tooth decay, thumb sucking, tongue thrusting, lip sucking and early tooth loss. Though the permanent teeth replace the baby teeth but keeping baby teeth healthy will help to develop stronger permanent teeth and as well eliminate the enamel defects.

What do you mean by Baby Bottle Tooth Decay?

Baby bottle tooth decay also known as nursing caries, childhood caries and nursing bottle syndrome, occurs if baby’s teeth remain in constant contact with sugars from fruit juices, milk formula, sugar water or any other sweet drink. The unswallowed milk in breast-fed infants’ mouth can put them into risk for tooth decay. Sugars in the mouth, present a breeding ground for the bacteria which ultimately results into tooth decay.

What happens if baby bottle tooth decay left untreated?

If left untreated, early tooth decay can lead to various other problems including:

• Decayed tooth cause pain, thus making it difficult for a child to chew and eat properly.
• Baby teeth are also ‘space savers’ for adult teeth. But if they are damaged or destroyed earlier, permanent teeth cannot get placed into proper position, hence resulting in crowded or crooked permanent teeth.
• Poorly destroyed or decayed teeth could lead to a tooth abscess, and this infection may spread elsewhere in the body also.

How can you prevent your child’s tooth decay?

You can prevent your child’s tooth decay by following below mentioned steps:

• Do not give your child a bottle filled with sugary liquids or milk to calm or comfort him during the day. Give plain water or substitute it with a pacifier.
• Do not dip your child’s pacifier in the sugar, honey or any other sugary liquid at anytime of the day.
• Do not put child to bed with a bottle filled with sugary liquids, give small amount of water or use a pacifier; as too much of water is also harmful.
• While sleeping, do not nurse your baby continuously throughout the night because breast milk also contains sugar and can cause tooth decay.
• Do not add sugar to your baby’s food.
• Make sure to wipe your child’s teeth and gums with a wet cloth or gauze after each feeding. This helps to remove any excess sugar or bacteria forming plaque that have built-up on teeth and gums.
• Take your dentist’s counsel about the fluoride needs of your baby. If fluoride is not present in your water, fluoride supplements or fluoride treatments may be suggested or needed.
• Educate your baby to drink from a feeder cup by his or her first birthday. It will reduce their teeth’s exposure to sugars.
• Do not feed sweets to your child very often and in large amount and particularly not before bedtime. As during sleep, saliva flow reduces.
• Give your child tangerines, bananas, pieces of cucumber or carrot sticks at snack time. You can also try other healthy snacks like rice cakes, toast and plain pop-corn. Dried fruits should be given occasionally as they tend to stick to their teeth.
• Do not give your child fizzy drinks as they contain large amounts of sugar and acids as well which can erode tooth’s outer surface.
• Avoid giving fruit-flavoured, baby juices’ to your babies and particularly in feeding bottles.
• Always ask for sugar-free medicine, particularly the cough syrups, from your doctor.

Baby bottle tooth decay is the most common childhood disease worldwide. Contact Dr. Sikander Singh D.M.D. at Aesthetic Dental Arts for any of your child’s oral health related issues. Our diligent dentist will educate you about preventive care to safeguard your child against oral health problems.