How Junk Foods Affect Our Oral Health?
Dr. B. Kanagasabapathy
[M.D.S. (Ortho), Fellow ICOI]
Today’s fast-paced lifestyle and busy schedule have made everyone to prefer junk foods over making fresh foods. Fast foods like sandwiches, pizzas, chips, french fries have reserved an inseparable place in most of our plates. Sticking to such processed food items is not the healthiest option because certain additives in those dishes are quite toxic and addictive which are bad for your health.
For instance, the large amount of sodium, carbohydrates, and unhealthy fatty compounds in processed foods tend to weight gain. Moreover, fast-food consumers are highly at the stake of developing diabetes, heart diseases, and various life-threatening diseases.
Did you know that frequent junk food consumption will ruin your teeth? The adverse effects of junk foods on your oral cavity are more than you thought. Keep reading to find out the dental issues associated with fast foods.
1) They erode the teeth enamel
The fast foods and carbonated drinks you are taking contain acidic compounds like acrylamide, amino acids, phosphoric acids. Excess intake of such acids will cause indigestion, heartburn, nausea, etc. Meanwhile, the acids tend to wear down the enamel layer and eventually eroding the enamel. It unveils the underlying soft tissues that mandate cosmetic appliances like dental veneers to repair.
Keep in mind that bacterial infection on tissues underneath the enamel is irreversible and hard to treat.
2) They are too sticky
The starch contents in junk foods made them delicious and more sticky. The leftover (debris) stuck over the teeth surfaces and lodged between the teeth gaps stay there until you clean your teeth. So dentists suggest brush and floss your teeth after having junk foods to minimize the harmful impact.
If not, they feed up oral bacteria to accumulate over the teeth surface and forming plaque build-up. It provokes bad breath, gum diseases, etc.
3) Excessive sugar causes cavities
The excessive amount of sugar in carbonated drinks like soda acts as catalysts for oral infection. The sugary compounds feed up the microbes to produce acids that not only damage the enamel but also cause cavities. On the other hand, sweetened substances increase the risk of developing diabetes.
People who do not maintain their blood glucose in control are highly prone to gum or periodontal disease which will lead to jaw bone infection and teeth loss if left untreated.
How can we safeguard our oral health from the harmful effects of junk foods?
Even the carbonated foods and drinks fill up your stomach and reduce your hunger, they do not provide the nutrients our body needs. Instead, they damage your teeth, boost the oral bacteria, and even shuffle the digestion process.
We have noticed serious dental disorders in many fast-food consumers even though they maintain a healthy oral care regimen. It means you cannot keep your mouth healthy until you limit or give up taking fast foods.
Replacing such unhealthy cuisines with less sticky, low-calorie foods like salads other than freshly prepared meals is the best way to overcome the mentioned consequences.
Taking fast foods to reduce appetite will not be detrimental until you consume them in control. The complications arise when you take such carbonated foods too often. Then you have to spend time in hospitals to address the complications provoked by your favorite delicious but unhealthy junk foods.
