Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Smart Snacking Tips to Help Keep your Beautiful Smile





MAKING SURE YOU HAVE A beautiful, cavity-free smile once your braces are off  will depend entirely on you. So consider this: cleaning your teeth after you eat is important, but also practicing good eating habits and limiting sugar intake will keep your mouth in optimum health. 





Making informed choices

There are many people who choose to snack throughout the day in order to keep their metabolism steady throughout the day and stay satisfied. When you are busy running around all day, it can sometimes seem like there are long gaps in between meals and a snack can help tide you over until you can get home and make dinner. Not all snacks are created equal and it is important that you take this into consideration. You should not be sitting there eating sugars and processed foods for your snack time. Not only are these bad for your health, they can wreak havoc on your smile. Here are some tips you should keep in mind when you are trying to pick out a healthy snack in order to keep your smile looking beautiful.

Conscious snacking

The first thing that you can do is to start noticing which types of snacks that you are eating, along with the time that you are eating them. Start out by making a little journal so that you can determine if the snacks you are eating are healthy enough for your smile or if you need to make some major changes.

Keep healthy snacks at hand

One of the best ways that you can make sure that you are eating teeth approved snacks is to only keep those snacks available. Admit it, if you have a bag of cookies and a bag of apples available at your house; you are more likely to choose the bag of cookies when you get hungry. Get rid of all the unhealthy snacks and only allow the good ones to stay.

One type of snack that you can keep around includes fibrous and crunchy fruits and vegetables. An example of this would be apples. This is because these types of fruits are able to scrub off your teeth of some of the germs and bacteria that are there while also increasing your flow of saliva. Protein rich foods are also great because they will give you the nutrients and minerals that are necessary for building strong teeth. You can choose options such as edamame, eggs, soft meats, and beans. Cheese is another great source because it is high in calcium content to help your teeth grow strong.

Step away from the sugary drinks

Soda and sports drinks are bad news for your teeth, and NOT recommended while you’re wearing braces. Most fruit juices are loaded with sugar and acid as well. Consider milk or water instead. Chocolate milk may be a good option  too. It offers a healthy dose of protein and  half of your daily calcium.

Eat an apple

If you are stuck on an idea of what to eat for your snack, you can never go wrong with having a nice apple. In fact, it is almost like giving your mouth an extra brushing when you decide to eat an apple. They are full of the fiber that you need in order to keep both your teeth happy and your stomach full without all of the added sugars that come with most other snacks that you can choose. Other good snacking alternatives include celery, pears, blueberries, cheese or yogurt.

Having a hard time eating fruits & veggies that are hard to bite into with braces?  Try slicing them up into little bite-size pieces.

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