Several factors could contribute to the development of tooth cavities, including poor oral hygiene, disease conditions, and diet. Understanding the foods that increase your risk of developing cavities and how they cause the problem is critical to ensuring you avoid them and make better diet choices for oral health. In most cases, foods that cause cavities create a conducive environment for bacteria to thrive in your mouth and gums. Common foods responsible for dental cavities include the following:

Sugary Foods

It is known to everyone that sugar is harmful to your oral health. The sugars in your foods and beverages play a significant role in causing tooth decay and cavities. Tooth decay is caused by harmful bacteria that produce acids that damage your tooth enamel. While bacteria naturally exist in your mouth, the multiplication and growth of harmful bacteria are fueled by sugar.

In addition to attracting bacteria, sugar lowers the pH of your saliva. Acidic conditions in your mouth are also a contributor to enamel damage. Most people indulge in sugary snacks and drinks to relieve emotional stress or as part of their routine. You can protect your teeth from damage by avoiding foods and snacks containing excessive sugars.

Dentists often recommend switching your sugary foods and snacks to healthy ones like fruits and vegetables. Additionally, you should regularly brush and floss your teeth when you consume these foods.

Starchy Foods

While recent diet trends limit refined carbohydrates, many people still consume a lot of starchy carbohydrates. These foods include pasta, bread, potatoes, and white rice. Although these foods are not as sweet as candies and sweets, the end product of their digestion is sugar. The digestion of carbohydrates begins in the mouth, meaning these foods leave a significant amount of sugar in your mouth.

The sugar in these foods will allow bacteria to multiply in your mouth and cause cavities and other dental problems like gum disease. You can protect your oral health by making better diet choices and reducing your consumption of refined carbohydrates.

Acidic Foods

Unlike popular belief, sugar is not the only substance that can damage your teeth and increase your risk of cavities. Acid from our foods could also be a significant factor in causing dental complications. A food's acidity is determined by its location on the PH scale. Substances that fall below the PH of 7 are considered acidic.

Highly acidic foods can cause decay and cavities in your teeth. Common foods that are high in acid and can cause extensive damage to your teeth include:

  • Lemon teas and drinks.
  • Vitamin waters.
  • Vinegar.
  • Alcohol.
  • Citrus fruits.
  • Energy and sports drinks.
  • Carbonated drinks.

When the acid from these foods comes into contact with your tooth enamel, it can cause erosion. Dental erosion is the loss of the outer surface of your tooth. The acids wash away the substances that harden the tooth, leaving it vulnerable to breakage and cavities. The symptoms of dental erosion include:

  • Pain and sensitivity when eating or drinking cold, hot, or sweet foods and drinks.
  • Alteration of dental fillings. Acid can dislodge your dental fillings, causing them to ship and leave gaps for more bacteria to enter your tooth.
  • Tooth discoloration. Your teeth can appear yellow or brown due to constant contact with acidic foods. Detecting cracks and chips on discolored teeth may be more difficult, which can cause the cavities to worsen.
  • Development of a dental abscess. You could develop a dental abscess if acid corrodes the area around the gums.
  • Loosening of the teeth. In severe cases, acid can ultimately damage your teeth, causing them to fall off.

When left untreated, dental erosion can cause a progressive loss of tooth enamel, creating cavities and cracks in your teeth. This will warrant lengthy and sometimes complicated dental procedures to correct it. The following are some ways you could prevent dental cavities caused by acidic foods:

  • Eat a balanced diet.
  • Reduce contact with acidic foods and drinks.
  • Rinse your mouth after taking citrus fruits.
  • Switch from soft drinks to flavored water.
  • Eat your fruits with meals instead of taking them between meals.
  • Seek medical attention for conditions like acid reflux and avoid foods that trigger the condition.
  • Neutralize the acids in your mouth by eating sweetened dairy products.

Ice Cubes

While ice is not a food containing calories, chewing ice is common, especially in hot summers. Your teeth are some of the strongest but they can be very sensitive. Chewing on ice cubes can cause severe damage to your teeth, which includes breaking your tooth enamel and causing cavities. Reports show that many people who adopt the habit of chewing ice do so for the following reasons:

  • Emotional issues and stress. While undergoing difficult emotional times, some people find it comforting to chew ice and distract their minds.
  • Many people with iron deficiency or anemia have the habit of chewing ice.
  • Having a dry mouth or constantly feeling thirsty can cause a person to have the urge to chew on ice for some cooling.
  • Individuals with obsessive thoughts find chewing on ice a solution to satisfy their behaviors.

Although chewing on ice can be a common and mindless activity, the habit can cause irreparable damage to your teeth. The pressure of chewing on the ice often causes your tooth enamel to chip or crack. These broken areas allow cavities, causing bacteria to enter your teeth.

Another way in which chewing ice can cause cavities is through enamel stripping. Ice is as hard as enamel and can cause severe damage when it rubs the tooth.

If you have the habit of chewing on ice, your dentist can recommend the following alternatives to reduce the risk of cavities and tooth damage:

  • Slush the ice. Crushing or slushing your ice makes it soft enough to serve your cooling purpose and is better than large crystals.
  • Switch to healthy snacks. If you chew on ice for comfort or to relieve your stress, you can opt for healthier options like chewing apple slices and carrots.
  • Skip the temptation. If your temptation to chew on ice comes from taking beverages in restaurants, you can skip the beverages altogether.
  • Melt the ice. Instead of crunching on ice for the cooling effect, you can slowly allow the ice to melt in your mouth, producing a similar effect.

Alcoholic Beverages

Moderate drinking can be part of a healthy lifestyle. However, heavy consumption of alcoholic beverages can have devastating effects on not only your overall health but can also cause devastating dental complications. One of the most common and immediate links between alcohol and cavities or tooth decay is a dry mouth.

Alcohol is a diuretic that increases the production of urine and reduces water levels in the body. This can cause dehydration and the production of less saliva. Saliva plays a significant role in preventing the accumulation of bacteria in your mouth and gums. Fewer bacteria will be washed out of the mouth with less saliva.

When bacteria accumulate in your mouth, they produce acids that erode the tooth enamel and cause tooth decay or cavities. Although alcohol will not directly cause cavities, it is a significant factor in the development of these complications.

Another way in which alcohol can cause cavities is that alcoholic drinks metabolize into sugar, which facilitates the growth of bacteria in your teeth and gums. Many cocktails are taken with sugary mixers, which coat your teeth and can cause severe enamel damage. For healthy alcohol drinkers, the risk of tooth loss due to decay and cavities is higher than for non-drinkers.

You could reduce the effect of alcohol on your oral health by following the following tips:

  • Consuming alcohol in moderation. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, moderate alcohol consumption includes one drink per day for females and up to two drinks for males.
  • Minimize alcohol dehydration. If you are a heavy drinker and cannot stop at once, you should avoid dehydration caused by alcohol. You can do this by taking sips of water between your alcoholic drinks.

Dried Foods

Dried foods are generally considered healthy foods. However, they can have devastating effects on your oral health. Foods are dried for easier packaging and preservation. Common foods that could be dried include fruits and vegetables. Drying involves the removal of the water content of foods. This could leave excessive sugar in the food.

In drying, fruits often gain up to seven times more sugar than in their natural state. Most of these dried fruits have a sticky texture, meaning they remain longer in your mouth and gums. The sugar creates a conducive environment for harmful bacteria to thrive, multiply, and increase the risk of cavities.

In addition to increasing sugar levels in the dried fruits, lemon juice could be added to the fruits before drying. While this aids in their preservation, the lemon juice lowers the PH of the fruits, making them acidic. Prolonged exposure of your teeth to acid erodes the enamel and increases the risk of cavities.

Dried foods are rich in sodium. Although salt does not harm your teeth, a combination of sodium and carbohydrates can irritate your teeth as much as sugar. Sodium can weaken your tooth enamel and increase the likelihood of breakage when pressure or trauma occurs.

Reducing the portions of the dried foods you consume and maintaining proper oral hygiene after eating these foods is essential to protecting your teeth from cavities. Alternatively, you can opt for fresh foods instead of their dried counterparts.

Sticky Foods

Sticky food is another category of foods that can cause significant damage and cavities in your teeth. Some examples of sticky foods your dentist can point out include caramels, taffy, and gummy candies. In most cases, sticky foods are made of artificial sugars. Since these foods stick to your teeth, you will chew them longer, which may be challenging to remove with a regular hygiene routine.

For this reason, sticky foods offer a conducive environment for bacteria to thrive in your teeth and gums. These bacteria produce acids that damage your tooth enamel and increase the risk of developing cavities or tooth decay.

Repairing tooth cavities can be a painful and sometimes costly procedure. Limiting or avoiding sticky foods could help protect you from these dental complications. As you stop the habit, your dentist can recommend that you undergo professional dental cleaning to remove the sticky food particles that could be stuck between your teeth.

Hard Foods

Your teeth are some of the strongest parts of your body. The teeth are made to withstand the pressure of biting and chewing for a lifetime. However, chewing or biting on hard foods can damage teeth by cracking the enamel and causing cavities.

If you already have a small cavity from tooth decay or other factors, the pressure from biting hard foods like nuts can worsen it. Since some of these hard foods are rich in essential nutrients, you can crush them or cut them into small pieces to reduce the pressure you exert on your teeth.

Find Expert Dental Services Near Me

Cavities are a common dental problem affecting both adults and children. Often, cavities develop as holes in the tooth enamel or areas of decay caused by a buildup of plaque and bacteria. Cavities are characterized by severe toothache, bad breath, and sometimes swelling of the gums. When left untreated, cavities can have devastating effects on your oral health.

While cavities can be treated to restore the appearance and function of your teeth, it's best to avoid these problems altogether. Your diet is a significant factor in your oral health. Some foods are known for damaging your tooth enamel and causing cavities. These include sour foods, sugary foods, alcohol, and dried fruits.

Avoiding these foods or replacing them with healthier alternatives can help prevent dental complications like cavities. At La Puente Advanced Dentistry, we offer top-notch dental care for our patients with different dental complications. Contact us at 626-626-7075 to book an appointment.