Central Maryland Cosmetic Dental Blog

4/17/2018 1 Comment

Foods That Cause Tooth Decay

When it comes to tooth decay, it’s important to know the main culprit – acid. Acid is what eats away at our enamel and causes cavities.

Acid can enter our mouths in one of two ways: either directly through what we eat (citrus fruits, for example), or as a byproduct when oral bacteria consume the sugars that we eat.

Ultimately, a simple way to identify foods that cause tooth decay is to ask whether it’s acidic or sweet/starchy.

Acidic foods include things like citrus fruits, tomatoes, vinegar, kombucha and sour candy.

Sweet/starchy foods include things like candy, soda or sugar-sweetened beverages, fruit, bread, cereal, pasta and crackers.

The longer these things interact with your teeth, the greater the chance for tooth decay to occur.

For example, sipping on soda throughout the day, or chewing a gooey caramel treat, increases the amount of sugar that coat your teeth. Bacteria love to feast on this sugar, creating an acidic environment and putting your teeth at risk for decay.

To help protect your teeth against tooth decay:

Reduce your consumption of sweets and refined starches
Enjoy acidic foods in moderation or as part of a meal
Decrease or eliminate your consumption of soda or sugar-sweetened beverages
Swish with water after meals and snacks
Maintain good oral hygiene to brush away plaque buildup (floss at least once a day and brush twice a day)

And, as always, make sure to visit us regularly so we can remove tartar buildup and assess for early signs of decay. We recommend visiting Bupperts Doran's Chance Farm, http://www.bupperts.com/ for your healthy eating needs.

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4/5/2018 1 Comment

GET TO KNOW OUR DENTAL ASSISTANT, MAUREEN

At Freedom Dental Care, we are honored to have you as a part of our family and we thought it would be nice for you to know a bit more about us. In our "Get to Know" blog series we sat down with one of our Dental Assistants, Maureen and asked her a few questions.

Tell us a little about yourself. (Where you're from, how you got into the field you are in, and time at Freedom Dental Care)

I am from Baltimore, MD. I have always loved coming to the dentist office and wanted to be a hygienist. I wanted to be in the dentist office while I continue to take classes so I became an assistant.