Apples - Good For Your Teeth?

Everyone has heard the adage that "an apple away keeps the doctor away." What many don't realize is that an apple a day might also keep the dentist away.

Apples are an exceptionally beneficial food for people to eat. They are sweet which makes them not hard to eat and there are enough varieties available that people can find one that fits the size of apple they're looking for. In addition, they contain a variety of vitamins and nutrients that people need to be healthy.

In addition to their basic health benefits, they have numerous dental benefits. Apples are a mildly acidic fruit. Because of their slightly astringent quality, they are an ideal food for cleansing and brightening teeth. The acidic nature of an apple is not enough to make a person's teeth pearly white. The acid needs the help of the fiber-rich flesh of the apple.

Crunchy foods, including apples, celery, and carrots, act like mini toothbrushes when they are chewed. The crunchy bits actually help scrub away stubborn stains. This does not happen in a day but will take a while. The cleansing effect may be noticeable, even if it's very slight, particularly if the apple eater is a coffee drinker who hadn't been eating apples every day to begin with.

Eating an apple a day as a between meal snack is also an excellent way to stave off hunger. The large amount of fiber in an apple takes a long time to digest so a person feels full longer. This, in turn, leads to less snacking in general which can have a benefit for a person's waist line. Also, not snacking reduces the amount of sugars found on the teeth.

After eating an apple, it's still important to brush your teeth. The apples still have sugar and acid in them which can damage the teeth. Leaving the sugar and acid on the teeth will reverse the benefits that eating an apple gave the teeth. Also, it's a good idea to brush away the loosened plaque from the teeth so that it cannot become reattached to the teeth. If a tooth brush is not available after an apple, rinsing the apple down with some water may be the next best thing.

So in addition to providing numerous health benefits to the body, apples provide dental benefits. If you would like more information on apples and other foods that are very good for teeth