3 Reasons Popcorn Harms Your Teeth
Many people listen to well-meaning experts who recommend snacking on popcorn instead of food loaded with sugar and fat such as potato chips and cookies. While popcorn may be a better food choice for your heart, it is terrible for your teeth.
If you encounter food advice that you feel might be a poor choice for your teeth, check with your top-rated dentist in the Los Angeles area at Southland Dental Care. Here are three reasons to avoid popcorn to save your teeth.
Acid and Teeth Do Not Mix Well
Lactic acid naturally occurs in your body. However, your mouth usually does not contain or produce lactic acid. There is a particularly good reason for your mouth lacking lactic acid. Anything containing the word acid does not play well with your teeth.
Lactic acid strips protective enamel from your teeth. Bacteria lurk in your mouth hoping for a chance to get past your tooth’s enamel. When it does, bacteria multiply while they party in the dentin within your tooth. As bacteria builds, the pressure increases in your tooth and has nowhere to go. A cavity quickly results, which may lead to a root canal. Eventually, gum disease or tooth loss may occur. Gum disease treatment or dental implants may be necessary.
Popcorn Hulls or Husks Fit Perfectly Between Your Teeth
Even though foreign matter has no place between or under your gums, popcorn hulls gravitate there and are difficult to dislodge. Popcorn hulls, or husks, are the thin coating around the kernel. The popped portion of popcorn has small pieces of the hull attached.
Often, you feel the hull stuck between your teeth or under your gum. With effort, dental floss and brushing will pry it loose from your mouth. Occasionally, you do not know that a hull remains stuck between your teeth or under your gum. Eventually, it causes bone loss and the loss of the tooth itself. A deep teeth cleaning may address the problem before tooth loss treatment becomes the alternative.
Unpopped Kernels Crack and Break Teeth
When you munch on popcorn, you are not giving it a great deal of thought. Sometimes, you bite down normally only to encounter an extremely hard, unpopped kernel. The unexpected contact with a hard object causes great force on your tooth. That force might break the kernel, but it can easily crack or break your tooth as well.
Treatment for Popcorn-Related Teeth Problems
These three problems cause havoc with your teeth. This is a good reason to have the best dentists in Los Angeleson your side. The first two problems can be addressed with a deep teeth cleaning or gum disease treatment. This involves scaling and root planing as well as other treatment options.
If periodontal treatment does not prevent tooth loss from popcorn-related damage, a dental implant might offer a solution. Tooth loss treatment is not something you normally think about while eating handfuls of popcorn. Maybe it should be.
Click to contact Southland Dental Care, or call (818) 788-8787 for dark gum treatment. Yelp and Google reviews place Southland Dental Care as one of the top-rated dental offices in the Los Angeles area.
