Diet & Nutrition Counseling in San Antonio, Texas

Understanding How Your Diet Impacts Your Oral Health

Nutritional counseling can play a vital role in helping you maintain good oral health. That is why Villa Dental is proud to offer it to our patients from San Antonio, TX and the surrounding areas. What you eat can have long-lasting effects on your teeth and gums, so it is critical that you know how each fruit, vegetable, or sugary snack is impacting your mouth. While water, dairy products, and lean proteins serve to strengthen your teeth, sweet foods and drinks such as sodas and candy can lead to tooth decay and periodontitis. Let our staff of oral health experts at Villa Dental help you plan a diet that will keep you and your teeth healthy as part of your preventive care at our San Antonio dental office.

The Objectives of Nutritional Counseling at Villa Dental

Many of nutritional counseling’s foremost benefits are rooted in overall health. Coincidentally, a majority of the foods associated with maintaining a healthy lifestyle are also tied to positive oral health and hygiene. The opposite is also true. The nutritional counselors at our San Antonio, TX office will assess your current diet and explore ways to improve it so that you can avoid periodontitis, canker sores, dry mouth, and other harmful effects of poor nutrition. It is best to be proactive about your oral health. By introducing or increasing your consumption of certain foods, you can help promote healing and resistance to infection while also strengthening your teeth. Further benefits include preventing the formation of plaque or gum disease. Our Villa Dental team will make sure your teeth and gums receive the nutrition that they need to thrive and stay healthy for years to come.

Your Diet Affects Tooth Decay, Periodontitis, & Canker Sores

The foods you choose are among the most impactful factors related to your oral health. By opting for the soda or cookies, you are facilitating an environment within your mouth that can lead to tooth decay, periodontitis, or canker sores, among other ailments. The naturally-occurring plaque on your teeth converts the sugar in your drinks or snacks into acid that will attack your teeth, causing them to decay. Excess sugar can also result in periodontitis, or gum disease, because of the erosion caused by bacteria associated with the plaque that accumulates on your teeth. A less severe yet still painful result of a poor diet is the formation of canker sores. These throbbing ulcers in the lining of your mouth are caused by acidic fruits and vegetables, as well as spicy foods. Our nutritionists will discuss healthy replacements for your typical choices so that your smile will remain healthy and bright.

Choosing Foods to Eat and Avoid for Superior Oral Health

It should not come as a surprise that foods that are healthy for your body are also healthy for your mouth. The vitamins and nutritional benefits that provide energy and help you function are also used by your teeth and gums to stay strong. Through nutritional counseling at Villa Dental in San Antonio, TX, we will help you understand which foods you can eat freely and which you should avoid.

Among the foods that are good for your oral health are:

• Water – Fluoridated water is the best drink for maintaining oral health because it can provide resistance to acid attacks on your teeth.
• Dairy products – Milk, cheeses, and yogurt provide calcium, which strengthens your teeth.
• Lean proteins – Foods such as meat, poultry, fish, and eggs can also help strengthen your teeth.
• Fruits and vegetables – Many fruits and vegetables contain copious amounts of water and fiber, which can help balance your sugar intake and clean your teeth.
• Nuts – Proteins and minerals in nuts are low in carbohydrates, so they do not activate the acid-producing bacteria that cause tooth decay.

Foods to avoid include:

• Sugars – Candies, cookies, sodas, and other sweet treats can expedite tooth decay.
• Citrus – The acid in oranges, lemons, and other citrus fruits erode your teeth and irritate canker sores.
• Sticky foods – Sticky foods will leave a tacky film on your teeth that is difficult to clean, which can lead to decay. Avoiding sticky foods is especially important for those with braces.
• Crunchy foods – Chips and salty crackers can get stuck between your teeth and cause plaque to accumulate.
• Alcohol – Alcohol can cause dehydration and dry mouth, as well as reduced saliva flow. A reduction in saliva production can lead to decay and gum disease.

Nutritional Counseling for Your Children in San Antonio

Our staff at Villa Dental understands that it may not be as easy to convey the importance of proper oral health to your children, so we offer nutritional counseling as part of our children’s dentistry services. Baby teeth are critical for your child’s growth. Keeping the teeth healthy will allow for more natural chewing and speaking but also help with the development and spacing of permanent teeth. Most poor eating habits among children develop between meals, when they drink sugary beverages and eat junk food. To improve your child’s oral health, our nutritional counselors will recommend that he or she:

• Drink water instead of soda or fruit drinks.
• Eat fruits and vegetables instead of cookies and chips.
• Replace sticky snacks with nuts.
• Brush and floss his or her teeth with a parent to establish a lasting routine.

Visit Villa Dental for Your Nutritional Counseling Needs

Villa Dental is committed to promoting proper oral hygiene among all of our patients from in and around San Antonio, TX. Our nutritional counseling services are just one cog in that wheel. Eating properly has far-reaching effects on the prevention of periodontitis, tooth decay, canker sores, and other maladies. We will devise a dietary plan that fits your lifestyle with the goal of increasing your consumption of water, lean proteins, fruits, and vegetables while simultaneously limiting snacking and sugars. The food you consume can affect your teeth long after you finish eating, so visit our office in San Antonio to take advantage of professional nutritional counseling designed to keep your smile healthy and strong.