Is Dieting Bad for Your Teeth? Here’s How to Protect Your Smile During Weight Loss

Take care of your teeth while dieting.

Thinking of dieting?

The chances are, you or someone you know is actively on a diet of some kind. These can be very difficult to stick to, as they are typically not made to be a complete lifestyle change. To make things even more complicated, it’s important to watch for the potential risks when planning what diet to start. Sure, the goal is to lose weight, but you have to watch for the other parts of the body that it can affect.

Certain diets can be harmful to the teeth and gums, creating lifelong issues and costly repairs in the future. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t go on a diet, just that you need to keep an eye out for and let us work with you to prevent these potential issues.  

Low-Fat Diets

Low-fat diets are a common way to lose a bit of extra weight, or even manage certain medical conditions, such as heart disease. If this diet is the one for you, keep tabs on the nutrients you are getting with your food, as it’s common not to get all the vitamins and minerals that your body needs to thrive. 

Eating a low-fat diet can prevent absorption of some valuable vitamins including, A, D, E, and K. For example, vitamin D is responsible for helping your body absorb calcium properly. If this goes on for too long, it can drastically increase the chances of teeth becoming loose, or even falling out altogether.

When you lose teeth, it can create bite issues, speech issues, or even problems eating, so it’s important to take care of the problem through restorative dentistry.

Low-Calorie Diets

Low-calorie diets are a classic way to lose weight, but for some people, it’s easy to cut too many calories. As frustrating as it can seem when you’re trying to lose weight, your body needs a certain amount of calories to survive, and without it, you can become malnourished. This deprives your body of essential minerals and vitamins. This can weaken the strength of your jaw, making it easier for teeth to shift or fall out. The tooth enamel becomes softer, opening the tooth up for cavities. The gums are affected as well, increasing the chances of gum disease.

Once these problems begin, it can require intense work to get your teeth back into shape, so it’s important to catch the problem before it gets out of hand. 

Fruit Detox Diets

What could go wrong with eating just fruit for a while? Though it might sound like a sustainable and tasty weight-loss option, surviving on fruit alone can create damage to the tooth enamel. This is because of the acid and sugar content in these tasty fruits. Though these are perfectly fine when mixed with a typical diet, constantly having the acid and sugar pressing against the enamel can create wear and tear, opening the tooth up for cavities.

Fruit doesn’t contain all the nutrients our bodies need to survive, so the other risk associated with fruit detox diets would be malnutrition. 

Diet Pills

Many diet pills have the side effect of dry mouth. Not only can this be an uncomfortable sensation, but it can increase the chances of tooth decay. Saliva is a natural defense against cavities. Whenever you have any leftover food particles in your mouth, the saliva helps get rid of them. This isn’t a replacement for brushing your teeth, but it definitely helps!

Tips to Protect Your Smile

If you are one of the millions of people looking to drop a few pounds, know you’re not alone! If at all possible, do what you can to maintain a balanced diet with the essential vitamins and minerals to keep both your body and teeth happy and healthy. Sometimes, a nutritionist can help you achieve your goals in safe ways. 

Drink all the water! It’s more common to be dehydrated than not, so don’t forget to take a few extra sips after reading this. Remember that fruit and vegetables aren’t bad for you, but you also don’t want the sugar or acid in the fruits to press against the enamel all day long.

Most of all, keep up with your regular dental checkups and regular oral hygiene routine. Come see us at least once every six months to make sure your teeth are as healthy as they can be, brush those teeth for a full two minutes, twice a day, and floss at least once!

Weight Loss Can Be Hard

It can be hard to lose weight sometimes, and thinking about the repercussions to your body can be a little daunting. No matter what diet option is right for you, don’t forget to keep an eye on your teeth. Don’t be afraid to talk to us here at Parmer Lane Family Dentistry, so we can help you look out for any potential problems. That way, we can prevent the issues before they have a chance to begin.

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