Eating healthy isn’t just a great way to nourish your body—it also helps deliver key nutrients that can help keep your smile strong! Although, of course, regular oral care and professional teeth cleanings are a must for a healthy smile, diet goes a long way towards protecting your teeth and gums. The following are the top 10 worst foods for teeth that you can minimize or eliminate in your diet.

1. Candy

It’s no secret that candy is the number one enemy of teeth. Although sugar-free candies are better than those with conventional sugar, many sugar-free and sugar-containing candies are sticky and sweet—not a good combination for your teeth. These sweets can stick to your tooth enamel, generating harmful acids that could damage your teeth.

2. Dried Fruit

Although dried fruit would seem healthier than candy, these fruits are actually high in natural sugars, and since the water content of the fruit has been removed, there’s nothing to buffer teeth against these natural sweets. Dried fruit also tends to be sticky, which makes it easy for it to get trapped in teeth.

3. Citrus Fruits

Lemons, limes, and oranges are high in vitamin C and generally healthy for you, but consuming them can cause damage to your smile. These fruits have a low pH, meaning they are very acidic and can harm tooth enamel.

4. Bread

Breads tend to be sticky and easily get trapped between teeth or in molars. If you eat bread, choosing whole-grain options such as whole wheat may be better for your smile than white bread.

5. Potato Chips

Like bread, potato chips are starchy and can get stuck between your teeth or in the deep grooves of your molars, where tooth decay is most likely to start [1].

6. Pickles

Although pickles in general aren’t bad for you, they have a low pH like citrus fruits, which can make them harmful to tooth enamel. However, the probiotics in pickles may actually help prevent tooth decay, so you don’t have to avoid them entirely [2].

7. Popcorn

Homemade popcorn is a healthy snack; unfortunately, it’s also one of the worst foods for your teeth. Popcorn doesn’t just get stuck in teeth—and pesky kernel shells can get stuck underneath your gumline—but you can also crack or chip teeth if you bite down on a kernel.

8. Cereals

While there are certainly some healthy cereals out there, many cereals are packed with sugar. On top of that, they are made with simple carbohydrates, meaning they can stick to your teeth just like breads.

9. Chewable Vitamins

Vitamins are certainly important for your smile (and your body!), however, chewable vitamins often contain high amounts of added sugar. Combine their sugar content with their sticky consistency and you could be damaging your teeth more than you think.

10. Foods With Vinegar

Like citrus fruits, vinegar has a low pH, meaning it’s acidic and can damage tooth enamel [3]. Foods with vinegar include salad dressings, ketchup, hot sauces, and marinades.

Do You Enjoy Any of These Foods?

Although you don’t have to eliminate these foods entirely to enjoy a healthy smile, reducing the frequency that you consume them can help protect your teeth and keep your tooth enamel strong to resist decay!

Sources:
1.
https://www.urmc.rochester.edu/encyclopedia/content.aspx?ContentTypeID=1&Conte
ntID=4062
2. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200611152451.htm
3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24839821/