Drinking water throughout the day is a great way to keep your whole body happy, avoid drastic changes in blood pressure, strengthen your teeth, and clear away cavity-causing sugars!
Our bodies are made of 60% water (up to 78% water in infants!), so staying hydrated distributes healthy nutrients to all of your organs and gets rid of waste. Sipping water is also great for your teeth – especially if it’s fluoridated.
Strenghtens Teeth
Drinking water with fluoride is one of the easiest and most beneficial things you can do to help prevent cavities. Fluoride remineralizes your teeth's enamel as it seeps in to protect your teeth!
Water fluoridation is endorsed by the American Medical Association, the American Dental Association, and the CDC.
In 2011, Calgary (a city in Canada) stopped adding fluoride to its water. Researchers compared Calgary children with kids in the same age group in Edmonton, Canada (which has had fluoridated water since 1967). Their research discovered that children in non-fluoridated Calgary had more tooth decay than children in the city with uninterrupted fluoridation.
Fights Dry Mouth
Saliva is very important to fight tooth decay because it washes away leftover food. It also helps you swallow easier and keeps your teeth strong by washing them with calcium, phosphate and fluoride, depending on what type of water you are drinking. So when your saliva supply runs low, dry mouth may put you at risk for tooth decay!
Keeps Your Mouth Clean
After a meal (which, more than likely has some sugars in it) your teeth has unwanted sugar left on your teeth. The cavity-causing bacteria in your mouth eats away at sugar and produces acid (which wears away enamel).
Many sugary drinks also have added acids (phosphoric, citrus or malic acid to make them taste less sweet), but those acids also eat away at your enamel!
Water, however, cleans your mouth with every sip. It washes away leftover food and residue that cavity-causing bacteria are looking to eat. It also dilutes the acids produced by the bacteria in your mouth.
So stay hydrated this summer for your dental health, and of course overall health! Feel free to call us at (617) 696-5257 to schedule your next cleaning or to become a new patient!
For more info: https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/nutrition an American Dental Association (ADA) Website