Five Health Trends That Are Damaging Your Teeth
Hands up who's fallen for a health fad they read about on social media? It’s an easy trap to fall into and many of these trends have more damaging effects than you would have thought. Everybody wants to lose those extra pounds or improve their wellbeing. With that in mind, we’ve decided to debunk some popular health trends so your teeth don’t get damaged in the process.
Charcoal and Fluoride Free Toothpaste
One of the many teeth whitening trends in recent years is charcoal toothpaste. Doesn’t sound too appealing does it? Even so, many people have been sold some unproven claims about brightened teeth. Don’t be fooled. Charcoal is very abrasive and can easily wear down the enamel on your teeth, which isn’t helped by the lack of fluoride in most brands.
Changing your eating patterns to smaller, frequent meals and snacking
Instead of eating three standard meals a day some health gurus eat more frequent, but lighter, meals. This can have a detrimental effect on your teeth. With constant snacking and eating your teeth are receiving constant waves of sugar without the time to recover, making erosion inevitable. Stick to your meal times and focus more on what you’re consuming.
Vaping
After vaping was held up as the answer to the world’s cigarette addiction, there has been a misconception that it isn’t bad for your health. Between 2012 and 2017, the number of people who vape in the UK went from 700,000 to a staggering 2.9 million. With such a new product, fresh scientific evidence is pointing out that, for your teeth, the effects are still harmful. Vaping gives you a dryer mouth, excess bacteria and inflamed gums, so try quitting the nicotine habit full stop.
Dry Fruit
While a couple of sprinkles of raisins on your morning porridge is one of life’s little luxuries, snacking heavily on dry fruits or nuts can still do your teeth harm. These foods have a high sugar content and can easily get caught in your teeth. Decay is inevitable if you’re snacking all day, so make sure to keep things in moderation.
Lemon Water
The citrusy tang in a summer evening’s pitcher of lemon water has been promised by some bloggers as a revitalising method of detoxifying your body. This is false and excessive drinking of citrus drinks can wear away at your teeth's enamel, causing decay.
While we’ve debunked a few of these health myths, there are still some out there that can do more harm than good. If it’s too good to be true, it’s probably not. Protect your teeth by keeping an eye out for red flags, staying sceptical about any quick health tricks you see online and visiting your dentist for regular checkups.
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