Drink Your Way to a Healthy Smile

At the start of a new year, many people make plans to “better themselves.” These plans may include saving more money, losing more weight, or exercising more. One thing you can do that is guaranteed to benefit you from head to toe is to drink more water.

Water is the source of life, as they say. Since the body is made up of 60% water, you must supply your body with adequate water hydration. Every system within your body relies on water to function properly, and drinking more water will boost your health. Drinking water not only clears your skin, curbs your appetite, and helps release toxins from the body; water can also significantly improve the health of your smile. And a healthy smile promotes health throughout the body.

Water and Your Smile

The state of your oral health is a direct indication of the health of the rest of your body. Severe health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, kidney failure, miscarriage, premature labor, and low birth weight babies can all be directly linked to an unhealthy mouth. Increasing your water intake will improve your body’s health, protecting you from disease and unwanted complications. When it comes to your oral health, here are ways that water specifically benefits your smile:

• Fluoride protects the teeth. Drinking fluoridated water is an easy way to strengthen tooth enamel. Fluoride is a natural mineral, and it was added to city and suburb water systems in 1951 by the U.S. Public Health Service.
• Water is a natural mouthwash. After every meal or snack, and after you drink anything other than water, tiny particles are left behind inside the mouth. Oral bacteria thrive off of these particles, especially from foods high in carbs and sugar. Drinking water helps wash away the particles so they do not linger and cause oral bacteria to congregate in huge quantities and damage the teeth.
• Water keeps the mouth moist. Saliva production is probably the most underappreciated aspect of oral health. Saliva is the body’s first defense against tooth decay because it not only helps keep the mouth moist, but it also bathes the teeth in calcium, phosphate, and fluoride. Staying hydrated promotes saliva production, so drink more water.

At ConfiDENT, we encourage you to make drinking more water your number one goal in 2021. Your smile will thank you!