healthy food

Add These Mouth-Healthy Thanksgiving Dishes to Your Table

November 21st, 2018

Thanksgiving is a great holiday to test your culinary skills and spend some quality time with your family in the kitchen. But, a lot of Thanksgiving dishes are loaded with unnecessary sugar, and terrible for oral health. This Thanksgiving, add some mouth-healthy dishes to your family’s table.  

Sautéed Green Beans

Green beans are a very popular vegetable around Thanksgiving, and they are usually made into dishes that aren’t very mouth-healthy. But, on their own, green beans are incredible dental super foods that help oral health in many ways. Green beans are full of fiber, which cleans teeth as it is eaten. They are also full of vitamin C, which is a strong antioxidant that helps heal gums, and fight gum inflammation. To get the most of these benefits, we’re going to keep our dish simple and really focus on making fantastic sautéed green beans.  

Ingredients: 
1lb bag of French Green Beans, ends cut and washed 
½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil 
1 clove garlic, minced 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon pepper 

Directions: 
Heat up a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add the olive oil and let it heat up for 30 seconds. Then, add the garlic and toss in the hot oil until it is lightly browned. Add the green beans and toss to evenly coat in garlic and oil. Finally, add the salt and pepper. Cook the green beans until they are bright green and pliable enough to eat, about 6 minutes. You can add salt and pepper to taste 

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Sweet potato casserole is a Thanksgiving staple, but it is packed with sugar and can be full of sticky marshmallows that are awful for teeth. This year, try roasting your sweet potatoes instead for a more mouth-healthy meal!  

Sweet potatoes are great for teeth, and packed with healthy vitamins and minerals that promote good oral health. They contain vitamin C, which promotes gum help and works to prevent gingivitis. They also have vitamin D, which helps to decrease bone and tooth loss. Sweet potatoes also contain vitamin B, which promotes saliva production. All of these benefits make sweet potatoes a great mouth-healthy addition to your Thanksgiving meal.  

Ingredients: 
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes 
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling  
1/4 cup honey 
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

Directions: 
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. 

Lay the sweet potatoes out in a single layer on a roasting tray. Drizzle the oil, honey, cinnamon, salt and pepper over the potatoes. Roast for 25 to 30 minutes in oven or until tender. Take sweet potatoes out of the oven and transfer them to a serving platter. Drizzle with more extra-virgin olive oil. 

Eat Well This Thanksgiving!

When planning a mouth-healthy Thanksgiving, try to incorporate as many fresh fruits and vegetables as possible, and try to stay away from heavy, creamy sauces and sugary desserts.  If you want help planning a mouth-healthy diet for your family, visit our office to discuss some healthier dietary options that can improve your family’s oral health.  

Packing the Perfect Mouth-Healthy Lunch

September 28th, 2018

As a parent, you can help your child achieve a healthy smile in many different ways. One way you can greatly help is by packing a lunch that improves their oral health. 

 

Avoid Sugary Drinks – Even “Healthy” Drinks 

Allowing children to sip on sugary beverages over long periods of time increases their exposure to sugar, and acid attacks that can erode their enamel. Try to limit or remove sports drinks, sodas, and high-sugar juices from their diets to aid in their oral health. Sugary beverages are one of the leading sources of sugar for children, and some can even be disguised as “healthy drinks” like nutritional water or sports drinks.

Pack Water 

Water helps rid teeth of damaging acids and food debris, and help keeps saliva flowing – which naturally keeps teeth clean. Water is the healthiest beverage for teeth, and we suggest packing it instead of any other drink in your child’s lunch. 

Also, don’t fall for nutritional waters. Most of these “enhanced” water products have an excessive amount of sugar, and aren’t great for teeth or overall health. 

Stay Away From Food Marketed as “Healthy” 

Granola cereal, dried fruit and trail mix can seem like healthier options, but they’re often packed with extras that aren’t healthy at all. In fact, dried fruit sticks to teeth and fuels bad bacteria that cause cavities, and granola can be packed with extra sugar and fat. If you’re buying granola or health cereal, stay away from those that have marshmallows, chocolate pieces, and even candy. Look for a higher fiber content, and granola that contains more natural ingredients like nuts and rolled oats.

Add More Whole foods 

When packing your child’s lunch, add in natural, whole vegetables and fruits whenever you can. Instead of packing starchy chips, try to add small pieces of celery with a healthy dip, or baby carrots. Instead of packing an imitation fruit snack as dessert, try packing fresh, fibrous fruit like strawberries, kiwi or apples. By replacing sweets and starches with fibrous fruits and vegetables, you can help your child avoid unnecessary sugar, and help them keep their teeth clean while they’re away from home. Fiber naturally cleans teeth by scrubbing away food particles leftover from a meal.  

Substitute Nuts for Chips 

Crackers, potato chips and other starchy foods can get stuck in the small areas of tooth surfaces.  Without proper brushing, these foods provide sugar to bacteria that feed on it, which ultimately leads to tooth decay. Instead of chips, pack nuts instead, which are full of fiber and healthy protein. 

Dietary Choices Affect Teeth

The food your child eats affects their teeth, and influences their overall oral health. Visit our office for more information about mouth-healthy diets, and how food can impact teeth.  

The Perfect Menu for a Mouth-Healthy Day

June 28th, 2018

A mouth-healthy diet can be a great tool for improving your oral health. But, altering your diet can take a lot of time and research. So, we’ve decided to help by outlining the perfect day of mouth-healthy food.

Breakfast: Apple Slices, Mixed Nuts, and Milk 

Breakfast is the perfect time to begin a mouth-healthy day of nutrition! This mixture contains a high amount of fiber, which naturally cleans teeth. Both the nuts and milk contain calcium and vitamin D, which promotes healthy teeth and helps teeth and bones absorb calcium. Milk also contains a protein called casein, which strengthens tooth enamel and helps fend off cavities. This light, refreshing breakfast is easy to eat at home, or can be easily eaten on the go.

Lunch: Garden Salad with Cucumber, Bell Pepper and Chickpeas 

 

A garden fresh salad is a fun meal that you can eat at home, or pack for your children to enjoy at school. We suggest making it with a base of fresh spring mix lettucefresh-diced bell pepper, thin sliced cucumber, rinsed chickpeas, feta cheese, and your favorite vinaigrette salad dressing. 

The chickpeas are high in protein, and the cucumbers are high in vitamins B and C, which fight gum inflammation and help repair gums. All of the vegetables are high in fiber, which helps naturally scrubs teeth free of food debris. The feta cheese adds a nice bit of calcium and casein to the dish, and provides a creamy flavor.

Dinner: Baked Salmon with Glazed Carrots and Roasted Brussels Sprouts

For dinner, we have a trio of mouth-healthy items that are sure to please the entire family. This meal contains a nice balance of healthy fats, fiber, and vitamins.

The salmon contains high amounts of vitamin D, which signals your body to absorb calcium into the bloodstream. Carrots are full of fiber and vitamins B and A, which helps promote healthy salivary flow. Saliva naturally cleans teeth by washing away harmful acids that can erode enamel. The brussels sprouts provide more fiber to the meal, and contain a lot of potassium, which improves bone and teeth density.

Bonus! Mouth-Healthy Snacks!

Snacking is inevitable, and there are plenty of mouth-healthy options that are easy to eat. Cheese is a great option that is high in calcium, which promotes strong teeth and bones, and casein, which strengthens tooth enamel. Mixed nuts, baby carrots, celery and kiwi are also fantastic mouth-healthy snacks that are delicious, and easy to eat on the go.

Oral Health Includes a Healthy Diet 

Brushing, flossing, and visiting us, your pediatric dentist, are all great ways to keep teeth healthy – but a healthy diet is also a fantastic way to get healthier teeth. If you’re concerned about how your child’s diet may be affecting their teeth, then visit our office. We’ll give you mouth-healthy dietary tips that you can use at home to help your children earn a healthy, bright smile. 

Can Healthy Food Hurt Your Child’s Teeth?

August 17th, 2017

A nutritious diet is a great way to help your child get healthier teeth. Whether it’s snacking on granola bars, or choosing fruit instead of potato chips, there are endless dietary actions that you can take to improve your child’s health. But, before you overhaul their diet, you should beware of certain “healthy” foods that are terrible for teeth.  

Granola Cereal

 

Granola is typically advertised as a healthier alternative to cereal that people can add into their milk or yogurt for an added dietary benefit. But here’s what they’re not advertising: granola typically contains high amounts of sugar and fat. The added sugar can lead to tooth decay, and the high density of calories can leave your child hungry and cause them to overeat.  

If you do choose granola, compare the nutritional values of your options and choose the one with the highest fiber content, and lowest amount of sugar.  

Citrus Fruits

Fruit can be great for improving health, but it can sometimes damage teeth. Citric fruits like oranges, grapefruits, lemon and tangerines contain a high amount of acid that can lead to tooth enamel erosion. If you serve your child citrus fruits, rinse their mouth out with water after they’re done eating to wash the acid away, and help prevent cavities from forming. 

Trail Mix


If you decide to serve your child trail mix, look out for unhealthy ingredients that can add unhealthy amounts of sugar and fat to their plate. Try to avoid trail mix that has chocolate, dried fruit, and candy. Look for mixes that are unflavored and don’t contain any added sweets. 

Dried Fruit

Dried fruit contains much higher levels of sugar than their natural counterparts, and none of the water that helps make fruit so healthy. Let’s use prunes as an example. Prunes are just dried plums, except just one cup of prunes contains more than 400 calories and 45 grams of sugar. However, one plum contains just 75 calories and 16 grams of sugar.  

Additionally, dried fruit can stick around on teeth long after snacking has concluded, and cause prolonged acid attacks that can erode enamel and lead to cavities. The bottom line is that you should choose fresh fruit and not dried fruit.  

“Enhanced” Water

Enhanced or “nutritional” water is not good for you at all. In fact, one 20-ounce bottle of Vitamin Water contains more sugar than the recommended daily amount for adults. Nutritional water may taste good, but there’s simply too much sugar in them to be considered healthy.  

Our advice is to serve your child normal water, which contains no calories or sugar. Additionally, regular water helps rinse debris from teeth and stimulate saliva production, both of which aid in the fight against cavities.  

Does Your Child Have a Healthy Diet?

A mouth-healthy diet is an important part of maintaining optimal oral health. If you’re concerned about how your child’s diet may be affecting their teeth, then bring them into our office. We will evaluate their smile and offer a variety of treatment options that fit their case.

4 Super Foods for a Mouth Healthy Superbowl

February 2nd, 2017

The Superbowl is equal parts football and food. For most of us, it’s a time to gather with friends and family to observe a great game, and overindulge on tasty treats. But, a lot of the big-game snacks aren’t healthy for your body or your teeth. This Superbowl, try adding these foods to the celebration for more oral health benefits.

1 – Cheese

Cheese prevents other foods from hurting your teeth as you eat it, which makes it a great Superbowl snack. It’s high in calcium, which promotes strong teeth and bones. But the benefits of cheese don’t end there. It also contains a protein called casein which strengthens tooth enamel and helps to prevent cavities. Cheese also helps prevent acid from destroying tooth enamel. We suggest buying a cheese tray with an assortment of pre-sliced cheese. Or, if you’re feeling extravagant, try your hand at making fondue.

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2 – Carrots

Carrots are full of fiber and scrub plaque away as they are chewed. Carrots also stimulate saliva production, which naturally cleans teeth. In addition to cleaning teeth, carrots also contain multiple B vitamins, which fight gingivitis! Carrots make fantastic finger foods, and are easy to use as dippers. We suggest substituting carrots in place of starchy finger foods like chips, crackers and bread.

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3 – Yogurt Dips

Dips are a popular Superbowl tradition, and there are countless recipes online. A good number of dips have a sour cream base, which can easily be substituted for non fat Greek yogurt. Like cheese, yogurt is high in calcium and casein, but it also contains a high amount of healthy bacteria. The healthy bacteria in yogurt helps fight the bad bacteria that can stick to your teeth and lead to cavities. Try finding a popular dip recipe like French Onion or Artichoke Dip, and replacing the sour cream with yogurt.

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4 – Nuts

Finger foods are a Superbowl mainstay, but most of them – like starchy chips and crackers – are quite bad for teeth. Nuts are an incredible substitute for finger foods, and they’re great for teeth. Nuts have an incredible amount of fiber, calcium and protein, all of which benefit teeth. Fiber cleans teeth by scrubbing away plaque, and calcium and protein strengthen teeth. All of these oral benefits make nuts a better choice for your teeth than some of the other finger foods.

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Don’t Forget about Water!

By incorporating some of the foods above, you can have a healthier Superbowl, but don’t forget to add water! Water is the perfect mouth-healthy drink that stimulates saliva to clean teeth, and rinses acid from the surface of teeth to help prevent decay. This Superbowl, skip the sodas and choose water instead.