Teeth should be white. And shaped beautifully. They should be clean, shiny, polished and there should be no spaces between them. While you can base the quality of your smile on these criteria you’d be missing something crucial: strength! Teeth should be strong! We use our teeth to eat and accordingly survive. Teeth with weakened enamel are more susceptible to cracks, chips and cavities.
Here are some tips to keep your teeth strong:
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Have a dentist check your teeth for signs that you grind them. You could be grinding your teeth in your sleep without knowing, slowly wearing down the enamel and weakening your teeth. Teeth grinding can have many complications including cracked and chipped teeth or cavities.
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Drink milk! Your teeth can always benefit from a little extra calcium. Calcium can also help reduce your risk for developing gum disease.
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Top a meal off with a little cheese. That’s right, cheese. Just like milk, cheese has calcium that can help keep your teeth strong. But besides that it helps lower the acidity level in your mouth (something that gets thrown off with food and drink) in turn preventing weakening of enamel.
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Dark, leafy greens, foods high in protein like meats and eggs, and dairy products all provide your body with essential nutrients that help remineralize your teeth.
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Wear a mouthguard when participating in a sport or activity where collision or high-contact is involved.
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Avoid hard candies, ice, hard breads, popcorn kernels and other hard edibles. Do not, no matter how tempted you are, use your teeth as a tool. Even if doing it once does not result in any damage it puts a lot of pressure on your tooth making it more susceptible to break, crack or chip later on.
Remember these tips if you’re looking for super-strength teeth! Remember though that no matter how strong your teeth are accidents happen. Call Dr. D’Alfonso of Lakeway Cosmetic Dentistry when you’re in need!