Attention to your eating habits can reduce your risk of developing caries. frequent snacking or sipping on sugar-containing beverages such as soda, juices, sports drinks-even flavored waters-creates an environment for decay because it exposes your teeth repeatedly to acid attacks. Keeping an eye on the amount of sugar in your diet also can help protect your smile. Most foods contain some sugar. for example, fruits and vegetable contain sugars naturally, while other foods have added sugars. You can minimize the risk of developing caries as a result of consuming sugar by limiting foods with added sugar in your diet. Also, eat sweets as part of a meal rather than as a separate snack. Salivary flow increases more during meals than during snacks. Saliva helps weaken cavity-causing acids and rinses food particles from the mouth.
Chewing gum also stimulates salivary flow. The increased flow adds calcium and phosphate to the saliva, which help strengthen tooth enamel. Chewing sugarless gum for 20 minutes after meals can help prevent tooth decay. Chewing gums that contain xylitol will both mechanically clean your teeth by removing food and kill bacteria to reduce cavities and gum disease.
