This month, Assure a Smile celebrates National Nutrition Month! As a holistic dentistry practice, we urge patients to consider how their oral health is intricately related to other parts of their daily life. Nutrition is often the first area we recommend patients evaluate, as the food we consume comes into direct contact with our teeth and gums. Failing to eat well, along with poor oral hygiene, is the shortest path towards tooth decay and gum disease. Oral health, as recent research indicates, is intimately linked with overall health. In this way, eating well not only preserves your teeth and gums, but it also preserves your overall well being.
(Just for fun, visit our Meridian Tooth Chart to learn more about the long-held beliefs of Eastern medicine that relate each tooth to a specific part of the body!)
Comments by Dr. Ted Herrmann:
Many Miami dental practices view dentistry as a reactive discipline. A patient visits the dentist with a problem, and the dentist fixes it. At Assure a Smile, things are handled differently. Our team is a holistic dentistry practice. We continually search for the underlying reason for certain conditions—both good and bad. If a patient visits with perfect teeth, we look for the causal factors that contribute to their exceptional oral health so it may be maintained. On the other hand, identifying the causal factors of particularly bad oral health can help a patient learn better oral hygiene habits that will build a healthy smile that will last for years to come.
National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month is an educational initiative created by the American Dietetic Association focused on helping individuals to make informed food choices, develop good eating habits, and remain physically active. In honor of this national campaign, Assure a Smile has developed the following list of tips to help parents and young people develop sound nutritional habits. Please reference this list as often as necessary, and don’t forget to share it on Facebook and Twitter!
When it comes to meals, eat less AND more. Our bodies were not made with 1000 calorie meals in mind. Instead of eating 3 large meals every day, try eating 6 or 7 small meals. Eating less, more often, helps keep your metabolism high which in turn reduces weight gain.
Fruits or veggies, every time. Incorporate at least one serving of fruit or one serving of vegetables with each meal. Fruit is most beneficial in the morning and afternoon, energizing you with naturally occurring vitamins and sugars. Vegetables are great in the evening as they are low in calories and will help restore the minerals your body burns through daytime activity.
Drink plenty of water! This is often times the most overlooked component of proper hygiene. Water is important for at least two reasons. First, it is essential for most bodily processes. You simply cannot live without it. Second, it keeps you from developing dry mouth and cavities.
Antioxidants, antioxidants! Recent research shows that antioxidants may increase the lifespan of organisms by balancing malicious free radicals in the body (i). If left unbalanced, free radicals slowly destroy healthy cells and may even trigger the onset of serious illness.
Have some nutrition tips of your own? Share them with us by Tweeting to @Assure_A_Smile on Twitter , or Share them on the Miami Dentist Facebook! We love to hear from our readers, and we will re-Tweet your advice to our Followers and Fans!
(i) http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~wilkins/writing/Samples/shortmed/nelson/radicals.html
