False Teeth - Making the Right Choices

How Important Is Drinking Enough Water For Your Teeth?

If you think about the amount of water you should drink every day, do you ever drink enough? According to most experts, you should drink around a half gallon of water every single day. Not only is drinking water important for your body, but did you realize that it is also important for your oral health? Drinking enough water each day can help you protect your teeth, and here are several things to know about drinking water and your teeth.

Water Keeps Your Teeth Clean

When you drink water, it not only provides hydration for your body, but it also cleans your teeth. Water is the only beverage that has no calories, no sugar, and no artificial dyes, and that is why water is the best beverage for you to drink in terms of oral health. When you drink water, it will have no negative effects on your teeth or mouth. Instead, drinking water will wash away bacteria and food particles from your teeth.

Because of this, one of the best times to drink water is right after you eat. When you finish eating, try to sip on a bottle of water for the next 30 minutes. If you do this, you are more likely to remove all the leftover food from your mouth and teeth, and this will protect your teeth.

Drinking Water Helps Fight Dry Mouth

Drinking water each day is important for everyone, but it can be especially helpful for anyone who suffers from dry mouth. Dry mouth, also called xerostomia, is a condition that is very uncomfortable. When a person has this, the person's mouth feels dry all the time, and it is the result of a lack of saliva production.

Most people do not realize that saliva is actually a very important component of the mouth. Saliva, just like water, is there for several purposes, and one of the purposes is to keep the mouth clean. When your mouth produces saliva, it flows through your mouth and past your teeth. As this happens, the saliva removes bacteria from your teeth, just like water does.

People who have dry mouth have a higher risk of developing cavities and other oral problems because they do not have enough saliva in their mouths. The result is that their teeth are dirtier and contain more germs. This is why people with dry mouth must drink more water. Water acts the same way as saliva, and it will also provide relief from the common symptoms of dry mouth.

Water Can Contain Fluoride

If you are drinking tap water from a city water system, there is a good chance that the water contains a small amount of fluoride. Fluoride is a mineral, and it is one of the best minerals you can consume for your teeth. Fluoride is the only mineral on this earth that is capable of strengthening the enamel on your teeth. Your enamel is the only thing that protects your teeth against decay, but enamel wears away over time.

Drinking water with fluoride will strengthen your teeth; however, consuming too much fluoride is not a good thing. Drinking too much fluoride could lead to gastrointestinal problems and other types of health problems. If you want to safely consume fluoride, you may want to limit the amount of tap water you drink and consume bottled water the rest of the time. Most brands of bottled waters do not contain fluoride in them. If they do, the label will state that information.

Drinking water is one of the best things you can do for your mouth, and water is the best beverage you can consume. To learn more about protecting your teeth through good daily habits, contact a dentist like Dr. Peggy Alvarez-Penabad.


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