As the summer season has entered full swing, many families begin to plan trips to their favourite beaches. Travellers not only anticipate the sun, sand, and water but eating and drinking their foods of beverages of choice. That said, a solid number of foods often associated with summer fun might not prove beneficial to their dental health. Therefore, at the Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa, we educate patients to exercise caution and discretion when packing beach baskets and include more tooth-friendly items.
Tooth-Friendly Beach Snacks
Fortunately, numerous options tasty and, above all, oral care-boosting edibles beach visitors can bring with them on their excursion. Such offerings include:
Vegetables
One especially tooth-friendly beach day snack idea is vegetables. This is particularly true in the case of crunchy offerings such as celery and carrots. Dental professionals laud these produce products for certain notable reasons. First, the crunch produced by these products contributes to the tooth-cleaning process. Moreover, they contain elevated water contents, which can stimulate the saliva production critical to keeping the mouth moist and preventing bacterial overgrowth. Additionally, crunchy veggies are low in sugar. As most reputable dental professionals will relay to their patients, sugar contributes to the development of potentially problematic occurrences like tooth decay.
Apples and Pears
While generally healthy, not all fruit is superb for maintaining optimal oral well-being. Some fruits contain significant quantities of colouring capable of staining teeth. Moreover, certain products are rife with natural sugar. Dental care providers suggest that the best fruits to place inside a beach basket are items like apples and pears. These fruits are crunchy, contain large water concentrations, and foster saliva production.
Dairy Products
Many oral care professionals enthusiastically sing the praises of various dairy products. These items are comprised of large calcium quantities. Calcium is vital to the development of strong, white, shiny, teeth. Furthermore, said offerings typically contain limited amounts of sugar.
Nuts
A sometimes overlooked but favoured beach day snack idea is nuts. Products like peanuts and walnuts are crunchy, strength-building, tooth edibles. Moreover, the sugar concentrations of these products are typically quite low. Nuts also do not stick to or collect in between teeth. Occasionally, lingering food particles can contribute to the development and accumulation of detrimental materials like tartar and plaque.
Protein-Laden Sandwich Items
When packing bigger ticket items like lunch sandwiches, said options should include protein-laden products like eggs. These items can be kept fresh inside coolers.
Sugar Free Peanut Butter
Sugar free peanut butter is another wise beach day snack idea. The smooth or crunchy spread can be placed in bread to make quick and easy sandwiches. That said, the product also usually comes in small plastic containers that can comfortably fit inside a cooler or picnic basket. When used as such, the spread can be placed on produce products like celery and apples.
Potato Chip Substitutes
For those needing the crunch potato chips offer are urged to substitute said items for more tooth-friendly and more wholesome offerings like kale chips. These products contain a host of nutrients holding the ability to improve dental health.
Water
Beach travellers should never sleep on water. Water is always the beverage dental professionals highly recommend patients drink during trips to the beach and on most other occasions. This natural liquid prevents dryness buildup, promotes saliva production, and prevents dehydration. Dehydration occurs when the body is depleted of its water content. While outside garnering direct sunlight and warm temperature exposure, the body will grow hotter and require water. Dehydration could lead to detrimental dental maladies like dry mouth. However, if not properly addressed, may cause other more serious medical issues.
The Importance of Choosing Healthy Snacks While Beaching
Many people use relaxing trips to the beach to let their guards down and enjoy their favourite grilled snack bar fast foods, sugary snacks, soft drinks, and even alcoholic beverages. Most dental professionals maintain that splurging every now and then is not likely to cause serious or permanent harm. That said, tooth-friendly snacks and beverages should be their edibles of choice on most of these summer sojourns. The consumption of sugar-rife, processed, greasy, chemically enhanced, fat fats will eventually take their toll on teeth and possess the capacity to result in significant dental problems that could prove painful, costly, and possibly even impact other aspects of one's health.
Contacting Us
At the Upper Hunt Club Dental Centre in Ottawa, we want patients to enjoy their summer. However, we also want you to remain healthy. One step towards achieving optimal dental health is choosing healthy beach snacks and up-keeping your dental appointments. Contact us today to learn more about improving your oral health by scheduling a dental checkup.
