During the month of February, we also celebrate Dental Awareness Month. Our set of teeth has a very strong influence on our health. The teeth initially comes in contact with the food we eat, thus, we chew foods to start the process of digestion. Unless the food is in liquid form, any solid or even semi - solid food must undergo chewing before we send it down to the other parts of our digestive system.  Part of having good dental care is adopting proper hygienic practices, such as brushing of teeth after (any form of) eating, as much as possible. In the absence of a toothbrush and toothpaste, rinsing the mouth with water may help cleanse our teeth (just a little).

When dental care is taken for granted, we start piling up a lot of bacteria that can eventually become instrumental in the development of tooth decay, tartar or gum infection and other dental problems. It has been proven that there is no single food that causes decay, tartar or gum infection. Mouth and tooth problems can result from as simple as neglect of cleaning the teeth; after which we start losing the sweet smiles that we can share with others.

Here are a few tips on how we can have that beautiful smile coupled with a good set of teeth to show-off:

• Take adequate amount of fluids to keep the mouth from drying and help ward of bacteria around the teeth and gums.
• Avoid too much sticky carbohydrates as these tend to lodge between teeth and gums.
• Meat and foods high in fiber such as fresh fruit and vegetables, help clean the teeth of food particles and sugars during the chewing process. These foods promote saliva flow, which helps rinse the teeth of food particles. Saliva also neutralize the acids that can start destroying our teeth.
• Snacking is very important to health, but, choose snacks that don’t harm our teeth too much. Good choices for snacks include cheese, yoghurt, plain nuts, unsweetened bread and cereals.
• Opt for foods with teeth-friendly sugar substitute like xylitol and palatinose.  Xylitol is a sugar substitute that can be found in woody fibers or birch tree bark and corn cobs. It can even be produced by the human body as a part of normal metabolism. On the other hand, Palatinose is a special carbohydrate that is, like xylitol, hardly fermented by oral microbes.

It is never too late to take care of our teeth, have we been neglectful in the past (during childhood), as adults, we can still spare (a few of) our teeth and not become among the toothless older people.

When you are thinking about dental health, note that that nutrition is not nearly as important to healthy teeth and gums as proper cleaning. If your teeth are thoroughly cleaned every day, they will last a lifetime no matter what you eat; then you can show-off that beautiful smile. Remember, good dentition from good dental care can help elevate our self - esteem.