KETO DIET & DENTAL HEALTH: 4 THINGS TO BE AWARE OF

31 March 2020

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When you start a new diet, you are focused on losing weight and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. The changes often mean you will introduce a number of new foods into your diet. Along with a focus on your weight, you should also be aware of the food's impact on your oral health.

Your teeth and gums may experience a dramatic change in the amount of exposure to a variety of foods. With the Keto diet, consider a variety of oral health changes and possible concerns to bring up to your dentist. Once you are aware of the changes, you can focus on both your weight loss goals and your oral health.

1. Seafood & Meat Bones

One of the core elements of a Keto diet is an increase of meat and seafood consumption. A number of meats contain bones, including various steaks, chicken legs, and chicken wings. A variety of fish include small bones as well. As you eat the food, a hard bite down on a bone could cause tooth damage. You may chip or crack your teeth. 

A hard enough bite could also extend to cause jaw damage. Ideally, when you eat meats, choose boneless options or cut the meat down before you eat. For example, do not bite meat directly off a chicken leg. Pull the meat off and use a fork to inspect the area for bones.

As you fall into your diet routine, your bone check routine will help prevent any problems. If a tooth does crack, a dentist may need to perform a root canal or other procedure to heal the crack and prevent gum prevention.

2. Coffee & Tea Stains

While water is the recommended drink for many diets, the Keto diet extends drink options to unsweetened coffee and tea. If you increase your consumption of coffee or tea, be aware of any staining the drinks may cause. Over time, coffee and tea breaks down the enamel on teeth and creates visible stains.

A dental treatment may include a clean and polish along with teeth whitening treatments. Teeth whitening will help return your teeth to their natural state.

3. Raw Vegetables & Flossing

Many types of raw vegetables are an acceptable part of a Keto diet and an ideal snack option. When you eat vegetables like broccoli or celery, be aware of small pieces stuck in the teeth. When pieces stay in the teeth, bacteria presence may grow and result in damage.

Floss and mouthwash help remove the smaller particles between the teeth. A dentist may point out any areas prone to stuck food and help teach you ideal flossing methods. Floss a couple times a day to remove the particles and prevent any oral health issues.

Additional dental tools like a water pick may also help keep your mouth clean.

4. Nuts, Seeds & Cracked Teeth

Along with vegetables, other approved Keto snacks include nuts and seeds. The snacks fit into the diet, but may present dental issues. For example, a person may have seeds or nuts stuck in their teeth, and the hardness of a nut could cause a tooth to chip or crack when you bite down.

A dentist may repair a chipped tooth multiple ways. A bonding procedure will repair the chipped part of the tooth and return the tooth to its original shape. A filling could also be used to fill in the chip or crack.

For larger chips, a crown could cover the whole tooth. In some cases, the whole tooth may be pulled and replaced with a dental implant. The implant shape and size will match your original tooth so the smile blends in.

For any questions or concerns about your diet change and oral health, contact our professionals at  Desert Dental . We can schedule a full oral examination and give you tips to help keep your teeth and gums healthy.

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