10 Foods That Help Fight Gum Disease

Brushing, flossing and using mouthwash are a great way to keep your mouth healthy. However, according to askdentist.com, over half of Americans have some form of gum disease. Gum disease can be difficult to treat and reverse. There’s only a handful of ways to effectively make that happen and that includes:

1. A gum disease fighting diet
2. Professional dental care, like your regular cleanings
3. Proper oral hygiene, which means brushing with a tooth paste like the Crest Gum Detoxify which is a specially formulated with fluoride and Activated Foam technology that reaches below the gum line to improve gum health, leading to clinically proven healthier gums.

Think of your gums as the foundation for your teeth. You always need a strong foundation to hold up a house and your teeth need a good foundation to be the healthiest they can be.

With summer starting, a lot of people will be changing their diets for swimsuit season and it’s great to know which healthy foods will also support healthy gums. I’ve partnered with Crest and the new Crest Gum Detoxify toothpaste to help you understand which foods can be best for your mouth’s foundation and support healthy gums.

Ginger

Ginger is perfect for flavoring so many different things from soups to chicken to side dishes and more. But it can do so much more for your mouth than adding flavor to food. Ginger is commonly used as a healing root and it has natural anti-inflammatory properties. According to healthline.com, ginger root can help to fight bacterial infections – which is what gingivitis is – and it can help to brighten your smile. It’s considered a super food and can help to strengthen your teeth and your gum line.

Apples

While apples have some acid in them, they also can clean the plaque that clings to your teeth and gums. Crunchy food also generates more saliva, which is great for cleaning your mouth near the gum line.

Milk, yogurt and cheese

You may know that dairy products are good for the calcium in your teeth, but did you also know they’re good for your gums? A protein found in most dairy products called casein can help to neutralize the acids that are produced by bacteria in your mouth. According to WebMD, cheese can also help trigger the flow of saliva that will help to wash away the unhealthy bacteria.  

Raw onions

Onions may cause some stinky breath but they have been proven to be really healthy for your gums, according to 123dentist.com. Onions neutralize oral bacteria and they have microbial properties. These can reduce the most common types of bacteria that cause gum disease. Try adding them to things like chili, burgers, salads, sandwiches and soups and stews.

Green tea

Green tea has antioxidants called catechins, which help fight gum inflammation caused by oral bacteria. In fact, it’s antioxidant rich and can help reduce inflammation in the whole body.

Celery and carrots

Like the apples above, these two foods can help create more mouth salvia and can scrape away food and plaque. They’re especially good at getting rid of food particles in those hard to reach places, like in between teeth.

Leafy greens

Kale, spinach, collard greens, bok choy and more have Vitamin C in them that boosts the production of red blood cells and can reduce inflammation, according to the College of Dentistry at the University of Illinois at Chicago. This can help with gum irritation and gum disease. Leafy greens also require more chewing due to the high fiber. This helps to trigger more saliva to flush out the unhealthy bacteria and excess food particles.

In addition to eating the right foods, it’s important to have the right tools in your oral health care arsenal when fighting gum issues. Crest Gum Detoxify is one of those tools that’s specifically formulated to help fight gum disease. It’s clinically proven to lead to healthier gums, and it seeks out harmful bacteria in those hard to reach places.

The advanced technology in Crest Gum Detoxify can neutralize bacteria, even below the gum line. In fact, 99 percent of gingivitis patients showed reduced gum bleeding and inflammation in eight weeks after using Crest Gum Detoxify.

You can find Crest Gum Detoxify at Walgreens and through June you can buy 2 Crest Products and get $4 in rewards points.

For more information, visit www.crest.com. Like Crest on Facebook and follow them on Twitter and Instagram @Crest to get more updates about oral health. You can also check out this recent from The Doctors about Crest Gum Detoxify!

For more how oral health impacts your overall health, click here. For more lifestyle posts, click here.