top foods for healthy teeth

>> betsy sykes: we dohave an e-mail question that comes to us this evening. ihave some food-related questions; does milk really make teeth healthieror is that a wives' tale? and also, my mother tells me that when my soneats an orange, he shouldn't suck on the sections with the peel still on(which he loves to do) because the acid is bad for his teeth. what do youthink? >> dr. venezie: there arelots of tales out there about different foods, andsome good information, some not so good information.but i think, i'm glad that the

viewer has pointed to issuesrelated to food, because that's i think one of the main factorsin terms of getting us a good start, a good healthy starttoward good oral health. what we know in terms of foodsthat are particularly harmful are those that either containsugar or types of sugars, but also even starchy snacks likepotato chips, crackers, goldfish, things we love to grabwhen we're on the go and when we're wanting a snack.and it is those sugars and those starches that really begin theprocess of tooth decay.

tooth decay happens whenbacteria feed on those same products that we love to feedon, and the bacteria turn those sugars into acid that theyproduce. especially if the food is sticky, chewy, sticks to ourteeth, its cleared takes longer to clear from our mouth,that acid attack lasts longer. and so it is also the frequencyat which we nibble and snack on those kinds of things.milk certainly is beneficial to us in terms of giving uscalcium, and other minerals, vitamin d, so i wouldn't everdiscourage folks from drinking

milk. we need it. but evenmilk used in a harmful way can lead to tooth decay.what we seeâ -- when we see that most often is children who takea bottle of milk to bed with them at night, and that lastlittle bit of milk sits around the teeth for hours on end.milk contains sugars as well. so it can just be just as harmfulif we use it in the wrong way. so it is really about trying tomake good healthy choices. i wouldn't be concerned about anorange. i don't think that's going to cause a problem.but i would be more concerned

about the pack of oreos or thepack ofâ -- the bag of potato chips we take with us and nibbleon in the car on the way to soccer practice, things likethat. >> dr. king: two other food-relatedfacts, when thinking about the question about the orange.is sucking on lemons, i've certainly see people who have areal habit of sucking on the lemons. the acid in the lemonis very acidic. that's not a good habit for people to have.also dr. venezie mentioned juices as having naturalsugars. you see mothers trying

to do the right thing theygive them a sippy cup with apple juice, and they walk around all daysipping on the sippy cup and that can really cause tremendousdamage. there is enough sugar in the aplle juice when youhave that frequency that can cause some real problems. >> dr. hollowell: one of thethings, the question about oranges, as dr. venezie said,certainly habits which lots of fruits and vegetables arepart of the diet is very critical to providing patientsgood dietary habits as well as

it stimulates the saliva andtherefore the cleansing for the teeth, the natural process fromsaliva is going to improve the overall health of the teeth byreducing the amount of plaque on the teeth, as well as providingthe opportunity for us to remineralize through the salivathe minerals in saliva will remineralize teeth as they arebathed in the saliva. >> betsy sykes: all right.jumping off that too, chewing sugarless gum, i have heard,read, that that can help in between meals or snacks if youdon't have an opportunity to

brush. is that true? >> dr. venezie: it definitely is.as dr. hollowell was pointing out, the sugars and productsthat cause tooth decay need to be cleared from our mouth, andsaliva is the way we clear those products from the teeth.and chewing sugarless gum stimulates saliva flow and cancertainly help at those times, maybe in the middle of the daywhen we don't have an opportunity to brush.certainly a good idea. >> dr. hollowell: and some ofthe recent products include

xylitol as a sugar that givesus a positive and enjoyable flavor for the products, but studiesshow that the xylitol has an effect on the bacteriathat will reduce some of the cariogenic bacteria, andcreate an environment that is much more healthy in the mouthfor those people, both in the interim between being able tobrush as well as to follow after that time throughout theircourse of life. >> dr. king: the xylotol is reallygood. studies are starting to showâ --

it's sugarless, it is a bit of achallenge to really get the

therapeutic effects, you have tochew pretty much for a pretty long time. that's something ithink we'll be learning more about as time goes on. i thinkit's a product we need to watch.