Most of us know the basic things we need to do to keep our teeth healthy: brush one or two times a day, use floss, and schedule regular checkups at the dentist.
This month, however, a dental clinic in Oslo, Norway, held a presentation for dentists at Meet Ullevaal. Ahead of it, Majorstuen Tannlegesenter (the clinic) sent us an email and said they’d share some quite unusual ideas at the event. They told us that, for many years, these ideas have been self-tested by clients going to tannlege Oslo Majorstuen, with quite interesting results.
“Perfect,” we thought. Thinking differently and outside the box is the core of our brand. Therefore, we were happy to hear that they would share a live stream during the event, and we tuned in. We especially liked the part of their presentation where they talked about uncommon ways to keep our teeth healthy, and thought we’d share it with our readers. Below are some of the things we learned.
Foods we didn’t know are good for our teeth
Just about everyone knows that foods with a lot of calcium are good for our teeth. But have you ever heard that this is also true for the following?
Cinnamon
New studies have shown that one of the main ingredients in cinnamon, the one that is responsible for its brown color and sweet taste, actually prevents bacteria from developing in our mouths.
Tough food
In almost the same way that rodents need something rough to gnaw on in order to maintain short enough teeth to eat, gnawing away at tough food can serve as scrubbers in our mouths. This is a good thing because it removes plaque. Examples of such foods are carrots and nuts.
Vitamins that strengthen our teeth
As mentioned above, calcium is one of the substances that support good dental health. During the online presentation, we also learned that there are other vitamins and minerals that can strengthen our teeth. Some people are lucky enough to get all of these through their normal diet. For others, it may be necessary to take supplements.
Fight bacteria
Probiotics are known for fighting the bacteria that we don’t want festering inside our mouths. Supplementing your diet with it might prevent your teeth from decaying.
Remineralize your teeth
One supplement that has been proven to help remineralize our teeth is Vitamin D. Most of us can easily get some of it through the sun and certain foods, but consuming it in its “pure form” will be a failsafe way to get enough of it.