Phosphates in foods are also beneficial. A very small portion of aged cheese or raw peanuts, eaten before or after a snack or meal, helps to neutralize mouth acids and to remineralize teeth. Fibrous foods, such as fruits and vegetables, also help to prevent tooth decay. They stimulate salivation, a natural mouth rinse. When salivation is decreased because of diseases of the salivary glands or as a side effect of drugs, or is low in volume, as during sleep, tooth decay is more likely to occur.
Milk is a good snack and a good mealtime drink.
Drink it with sweet foods to help wash sugar from your mouth. Chewing sugarless gum after meals promotes production of saliva and helps neutralize tooth-decaying acids in plaque. It is good to brush your teeth after eating, but if you can't, chewing sugarless gum is an alternative. Developed by McKessonHBOC Clinical Reference Systems. Published by McKessonHBOC Clinical Reference Systems.