Eat Right & Add Exercise to Help your Dental Health

by Dr. Anson Hooper, DDS, Hooper Family Dental

Adulting comes with the need to make many decisions — from the food you eat to the clothes you wear to the activities you choose to participate in.

At surface level, these tasks can seem mundane and easy to do. For instance, when you want to eat a burger and fries, you order them or make them. If you have a craving for Mexican cuisine, you visit a restaurant and eat it. As simple as these actions seem, they have physical and mental health implications and can affect everything from your job performance to strength to appearance.

So, regardless of what you are trying to achieve, it is vital to eat for the outcome you want to achieve.

Interestingly, our diet and oral health have a synchronous relationship. That means your oral health affects the nutrients you eat and that your diet and nutrition affect your oral health, the tissues in your mouth.

We know that the consumption of acidic and sugary foods without proper dental care will lead to dental cavities and dental diseases. This can lead to you struggling to eat certain foods, leading to a nutrient deficiency in your body.

Without the proper intervention of dental care, and a change in nutritional intake, the cycle will continue. To avoid this, it’s critical that you eat foods good for your teeth and maintain a proper diet and oral care regimen.

While the benefits of physical fitness on your overall health are obvious, it’s worth mentioning that adopting a fitness lifestyle can also reduce your risk of developing dental issues.

There is a significant correlation between body weight and oral health. Research suggests that people who maintain a healthy weight through exercise and dieting are 40% less likely to develop oral health problems.

Adding exercise to your weekly routine along with consuming fewer sweets and more lean proteins, nuts, yogurt, dairy and leafy greens can increase your chance at a healthy, long life.