Foods that are Natural Plaque Fighters
Out with friends? On the road? Sometimes, carrying around a toothbrush to keep your pearly whites pearly white isn’t so easy. When brushing and flossing isn’t a convenient option, you can still keep your teeth and mouth clean and feeling fresh, simply by eating delicious, healthy food. In fact, you’re probably eating many of these foods on a regular basis anyway and helping fight plaque without even knowing it.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away and tooth decay, too!
This goes for most crunchy fruits and vegetables as well. Apples, carrots, and celery are just a few examples of foods that require extra chewing which produces saliva, neutralizing bacteria that can cause cavities. Plus, chomping on naturally abrasive foods removes stuck food particles, massages gums, and cleans between teeth, too.

Limes, lemons, and oranges contain a natural acidity which helps increase the production of saliva to wash away the food you have eaten. Because these acidic fruits also have a high concentration of water in them, they aid the tooth rinsing process as well, helping to keep your mouth free from harmful bacteria. Follow up with a drink of water to remove any excess citric acid though, as this can also eat away at your teeth’s enamel.

Green tea contains substances called catechins that kill the bacteria in your mouth that turn sugar into plaque. Catechins also wipe out the bacteria that cause bad breath. So, instead of reaching for that can of soda, steep some green tea instead!

Cheese, which is low in carbohydrates and high in calcium, provides several benefits to your teeth. It helps to balance your mouth’s acidity level, preserves and rebuilds tooth enamel, prevents plaque, and produces saliva, which kills the bacteria that cause cavities and gum disease.

Isothiocyanates, the substance that makes wasabi, or Japanese horseradish,  can also inhibit the growth of cavity causing bacteria. It packs a punch, but a bit of wasabi on your California roll can help keep your teeth plaque free.

The xylitol in sugarless gum helps to prevent plaque, aids in producing saliva, and can help remove food stuck to your teeth after a meal. Plus, chewing sugar-free gum keeps your breath smelling great!

Drinking water keeps your gums hydrated and is the best way to stimulate saliva, your body's greatest defense against the bacteria that cause plaque and cavities. Rinsing your mouth with water also helps wash away trapped food particles that cause bad breath. If you can’t brush after eating, the most important thing you can do to prevent cavities is rinse your mouth with water. 

Of course, no food can take the place of daily brushing and flossing, but when you’re on the go, you can still take a bite out of tooth decay.

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