Foods To Eat and Foods To Avoid for Healthy Teeth

Citrus Fruit

Citrus fruits and juices—a rich source of vitamin C and other nutrients—are good for you in many ways, but not when it comes to your teeth. Enamel, the hard, outer layer of your teeth, is sensitive to decay and erosion, according to the ADA. Grapefruit and lemon juice, in particular, are highly acidic and can erode tooth enamel over time.

Orange juice is less acidic, Dr. Messina pointed out, and many store-bought varieties are also fortified with teeth-friendly calcium and vitamin D. "Fortified OJ is good for you on many levels," Dr. Messina said. Drink it, but brush and floss as recommended.

Chewy Candy

The stickier the candy, the worse it tends to be for your teeth. Extra-chewy candies—like taffy, caramels, or Jujyfruits—stick to (and between) teeth for a long time, allowing the bacteria in our mouths to feast leisurely on the deposited sugar. "Bacteria burns sugar to make acid, which dissolves the protective layer of tooth enamel and causes cavities," Dr. Messina explained.

Candies that are chewy, sugary, and acidic—a category that includes many "sour" varieties—deliver a "triple whammy of negatives," Dr. Messina added, because they carry their own payload of erosive acid, in addition to that produced by the interaction of sugar and bacteria.

Hard Candy

Hard candies should also be avoided, according to the ADA. They don't cling to your teeth as readily as chewy candy, but they dissolve slowly and saturate your mouth for several minutes at a time, giving bacteria more time to produce harmful acid.

Besides, if you bite down wrong on some hard candies, they can chip your teeth—something no amount of brushing or flossing can repair. They don't call 'em jawbreakers for nothing!

Pickles

Acid (typically provided by vinegar) is essential to the pickling process. It's what gives pickles their sour, salty taste—and it's also what makes them a potential hazard to tooth enamel. A 2018 review publshed in British Dental Journal explained that regular consumption of vinegar or pickles is a risk factor for tooth erosion.

Most of us don't eat pickles that often, however, and snacking on them every now and then isn't likely to noticeably affect your dental health, Dr. Messina said.

Soda

It's no secret that drinking too many sugary sodas can breed cavities. What's less well-known is that carbonated sugary drinks appear to harm teeth more than non-carbonated sugary drinks. A 2018 study in the Journal of Contemporary Practice found carbonated sodas to be both more acidic and more corrosive than non-carbonated juice drinks.

If you can't do without soda, your best bet is to drink it during a meal, rather than sipping it throughout the day. The food will help neutralize the acid, Dr. Messina said, and "the time of exposure to the acid is much shorter," Dr. Messina added.

Sports Drinks

If you're in the mood for something sweet or fizzy, sports drinks and energy drinks may seem like a good alternative to soda. But they won't do your teeth any favors, either. These beverages are acidic, too, and are potentially even more damaging to teeth.

In a 2016 study published in Advances in Clinical and Experimental Medicine, researchers found that Gatorade resulted in a high amount of tooth erosion, followed by Powerade. The sports drink that researchers found caused the least tooth erosion was Isotar.

Crackers

The refined carbohydrates found in saltines and many other types of crackers convert to sugar in the mouth very quickly, providing fodder for cavity-forming bacteria. Crackers also become mushy when chewed, turning into a paste-like goop that builds up in your molars and lodges between teeth.

If you frequently binge on crackers you may have cause for concern, but eating them in moderation isn't likely to cause any long-term problems—"as long as you do a thorough job brushing and flossing," Dr. Messina said. "Good oral hygiene will compensate for almost anything," Dr. Messina added.

Coffee

Do you know those stubborn brown stains that accumulate on the inside of a coffee mug? Those give you some idea of how coffee drinking can stain your teeth over time. A 2022 study published in the Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences found that over time, consuming black coffee or Arabic coffee leads to stains on the teeth.

In addition to being unsightly, teeth with heavy coffee stains tend to be sticky and apt to attract food particles and bacteria, Dr. Messina said.

Tea

Tea is often considered a healthier alternative to coffee, especially because so many types of tea are marketed to boost health. While some of those claims might have some truth to them, tea isn't great for your teeth. The Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences research from 2022 found that drinking tea can create tooth stains and erode the teeth.

How To Reverse the Damage

Now that you know which foods can stain or weaken your teeth, it's time to focus on those that can help prevent or even reverse this dental damage. The good news is, if you eat a healthy diet you're probably already getting plenty of them, since many of the same foods that are good for our bodies in general—like vegetables—are also good for our teeth.

Sugarless Gum

Sugar-free gum helps clean teeth by stimulating the production of saliva. Saliva is nature's way of washing away acids produced by the bacteria in your mouth, and it also bathes the teeth in bone-strengthening calcium and phosphate. In addition, many varieties of sugarless gum are sweetened with xylitol, an alcohol that reduces bacteria.

You might want to stick with mint flavors, however. A 2018 review in the British Dental Journal explained that the acid used to create certain fruit flavors could damage teeth, though only slightly. "Anything we taste as sour is more acidic, but we're getting so much good out of the saliva flow, I could live with that," Dr. Messina said.

Water

Water, like saliva, helps wash sugars and acid off teeth. It also contains fluoride, a mineral that protects against tooth erosion and is found in toothpaste and some mouthwashes.

Fluoride occurs naturally in water (including some bottled spring water), and most tap water in the United States is also fortified with it, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Dairy

Milk and other dairy products are one of the primary dietary sources of calcium, which is essential for healthy teeth. Calcium is the key ingredient in a mineral, known as hydroxyapatite, that strengthens tooth enamel as well as bones. (Teeth aren't bones, technically, but they share some of the same properties.)

Dairy products—especially cheese—also contain casein, a type of protein. A 2022 study from the Australian Medical Journal found that caseins play an important role in stabilizing and repairing tooth enamel.

High-fiber Foods

Leafy vegetables and other high-fiber foods promote good digestion and healthy cholesterol levels, and they also do wonders for your teeth—mostly because they require a lot of chewing.

Eating a bowl of spinach or beans is a bit like running your teeth through a car wash: All that chewing generates saliva, and the food itself physically scrubs your teeth as it's mashed up into little pieces. "It's the Milk-Bone dog biscuit benefit," Dr. Messina said.