Carbohydrates are a delicious reason to eat pasta, breads, cookies, candies, and a host of other wonderful delicacies. While carbohydrates are deliciously wonderful, they can also be detrimental to your teeth. Here are some reasons too many carbohydrates are not a good idea for your teeth.
About Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates are found in a lot of foods, such as pasta. Carbohydrates are great when they contain a lot of fiber because fiber helps both your digestion and your teeth and gums. The fiber in whole grains acts like toothbrushes that remove bacteria and plaque from your teeth and gums.
While many whole-grain, high-fiber carbohydrates are healthy for your teeth, there are problems with some carbohydrates. Carbohydrates that contain refined sugars are especially damaging to your dental health.
What's the Problem with Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates contain both natural and refined sugars that allow bacteria in your mouth to grow. Those bacteria are in your mouth all of the time. Some bacteria in your mouth are beneficial because you need those bacteria to help you digest your food. However, too much bacteria leads to problems with your dental health.
Too much bacteria in your mouth can be caused by excessive carbohydrates. Because carbohydrates are made of sugars, they provide a natural growth media for bacteria. With that much bacteria in your mouth, the acids from the bacteria can eat away at your teeth and cause cavities. They can also cause gum disease. Excess bacteria growth can lead to complications of diabetes and infections in your heart and may contribute to dementia.
Solving the Problem
If you love carbohydrates, make sure you curb your carbohydrate intake to once or twice daily. Include as many whole grains as possible. Be sure that you are brushing and flossing twice a day and visiting the dentist twice a year. That way, you'll be able to enjoy carbohydrates while keeping bacteria levels down to a minimum.
Carbohydrates are a delicious reason to eat pasta, breads, cookies, candies, and a host of other wonderful delicacies. While carbohydrates are deliciously wonderful, they can also be detrimental to your teeth. Here are some reasons too many carbohydrates are not a good idea for your teeth.