Acidic food and drinks: Vitamin C that is present in Citrus food and drinks like lemon, oranges, grapefruit when taken in excess amount, can erode the enamel and make teeth easy to decay. If you want to take them instead, always rinse your mouth afterwards with water.

Candies and sugary items: candies and toffees that is sticky in nature causes more damage to teeth as they stick to teeth for longer time and cause decay.

White Bread: the white bread after chewing invites bacteria by sticking to the crevices of teeth. During chewing, the saliva changes starch of bread into sugar. This sticks to teeth and cause cavities.

Soda Drinks: Soda drinks or carbonated drinks are acidic in nature and harmful for the gums and teeth. Excess of their consumption can lead to dry mouth, cavities and discoloring of teeth.

Ice: Ice seems to be very nice and you think it is totally fine to chew it because it’s all water. But it’s a great NO. Dentists recommend not chewing the ice as it is hard in nature and can cause chipped, cracked and loosened gums.

Dried Fruits: Although they are termed as healthy snack but some of the dried fruits like apricots, prunes, figs, and raisins that are sticky in nature cause tooth decay when stuck into the crevices or corner of the teeth. It is advised to floss or brush the teeth after taking them.

Chips: Loaded of starch that get converted into sugar when get mix with saliva. The sugar particles get trapped in teeth and cause plaque. Always rinse the mouth with water after having a bag of chips.

Alcohol: Its consumption leads to dry mouth or less saliva. Less saliva means there will be no saliva to prevent food from sticking to your teeth and washes away food particles. Thus, this will cause infection and tooth decay.

Disclaimer: The content including advice provides generic information only. It is in no way a substitute for qualified medical opinion. Always consult a specialist for more information. Jugaadin does not claim responsibility for this information.

Some of the basic care tips given by Dr. Sachin Mittal are:

1. Pregnant women should eat balanced diet and brush their teeth thoroughly after every meal to prevent any infection.
2. Your dentist should know that you are pregnant so that he can postpone elective dental procedures till delivery.
3. Rinse your mouth out with water or a mouth rinse if you have bouts of frequent vomiting.

4. Your dentist should know the other medications that physician has prescribed you. It will be then easier for him to alter dental medicines according to the information.

5. Never skip dental health checkup appointment. Pay particular attention to any changes in your gums during pregnancy. If tenderness, bleeding or gum swelling occurs at any time during your pregnancy, talk with your dentist or periodontist as soon as possible.

 Plaque is a sticky bio film made up of thousands of bacteria occurring naturally. Whenever we eat food rich in sugar or carbohydrate content, these bacteria feed on them and produces an acidic by product that harms our tooth enamel and form cavities.

Acc. to Dr Sachin Mittal , to keep mouth free from these naturally occurring bacteria and to prevent cavities, one should follow some basic tips:

Tip 1: Brush twice a day, and if it is possible for you to brush, do it after every meal.

Tip 2: Flossing– Do floss once a day to remove particles of food and plaque from beyond the teeth.

Tip 3: Fluoride rich Mouthwash: Add a mouthwash to your oral health care kit as fluoride will reduce the number of bacteria and keep the enamel safe.

Tip 4: Chew Gum: Chewing is good for oral cavity. Chew sugarless gum after every meal to stimulate the saliva production which in turn helps in neutralizing the acidic effect.

Tip 5: If you are suffering from plaque, you should avoid taking sugary and starchy items.

Tip 6: Smoking and Tobacco is bad for teeth. Avoid them.

Tip 7: If plaque is not getting removed through above methods, then you should consult your dentist. A cleaning by a professional dentist will help you to get rid of plaque.

Procedure: First of all, dentist will rough or scratch the tooth surface and then applied a conditioner or bonding material on the tooth. Then the resin like plastic material is applied and molded in the desired shape of the tooth. The resin that is applied is liquid in nature; it is hardened by the laser light. After hardening, the material is trim, shaped and polished to match with the surroundings.

To maintain the beauty of the bonded teeth, a person should avoid smoking and drinking caffeine substances like tea, coffee because this resin material is stain resistant. It gat stained very easily. To avoid stain, one should brush twice a daily and visit dentist for good oral health.

The disadvantage of using tooth bonding is that the material used can be chip off easily while chewing nails, pens or any other hard substance. Thus, routine checkups are necessary for ensuring the oral health hygiene and bonded tooth condition.

Now the question arises what causes Periodontal Disease?

We think that bacteria only live in our surrounding environment but it is not true. There are number of bacteria that live in our mouth and they are the cause of periodontal disease. Bacteria along with mucus and other particles form a sticky substance called ‘Plaque’. If plaque is not treated on time, it forms in a hard substance called ‘Tartar’. Plaque can be formed on the teeth, between the teeth and on gumline also. This deposition of dental plaque leads to the degradation of tooth.

Other factors that can enhance the periodontal disease are smoking, diabetes, poor nutrition, stress and improper brushing.

Types of Periodontal Disease:

Gingivitis

Periodontitis

Gingivitis:  It is an inflammatory condition characterized by redness and swelling of gums, bleeding of gums during brushing. This disease can be both severe and can persist for long time if not treated early. It can result in inflammation of both gum and tissue surrounding the teeth.

Periodontitis: when inflammation reaches to the jaw bone of the teeth, causing severe degradation of the teeth is termed as periodontitis. Periodontitis can occur only after gingivitis. Plaque that formed releases certain enzymes that in return cause damage to the bone cells.

Prevention to Periodontal Disease:

Brush properly and daily to prevent plaque to deposit.

Flossing technique can help in removing plaque.

Avoid smoking, stress and take healthy diet to prevent tooth decay.

Visit dentist on regular basis to keep teeth healthy.