News to Chew On: Choose Foods Good for Your Teeth

If you are what you eat, that's particularly true for your teeth and gums. When you drink and munch starchy or sugary foods, you're not only feeding yourself, you're feeding the plaque that can cause havoc in your mouth.

Plaque is a thin, invisible film of sticky bacteria and other materials that covers all the surfaces of your teeth. Acids that attack teeth are formed when sugars or starches in your mouth come into contact with plaque; that can happen 20 minutes or more after you finish eating. Repeated attacks can break down the hard enamel on the surface of teeth, leading to tooth decay.

These foods are good for your teeth:

• Fiber-rich fruits and vegetables. Foods with fiber stimulate saliva flow, which, next to good home dental care, is your best natural defense against cavities and gum disease.
• Cheese, milk, plain yogurt, and other dairy products. Cheese is another saliva generator. The calcium in cheese, and the calcium and phosphates in milk and other dairy products, help replenish minerals your teeth might have lost due to other foods.
• Green and black teas. Both contain polyphenols that interact with plaque bacteria. These substances either kill or suppress bacteria, preventing them from growing or producing tooth-attacking acid.
• Sugarless chewing gum. This is another great saliva generator that removes food particles from your mouth.
• Foods with fluoride. Fluoridated drinking water, or any product you make with fluoridated water, helps your teeth.