Often when you have eaten you will feel a nagging feeling in your teeth when there is food stuck between them. That is when a toothpick will come in handy quite nicely. Nobody who has a piece of spinach stuck between their teeth and smiles at someone will get a warm smile back. The same goes for someone suffering from halitosis or bad breath. Below are mentioned the top 5 food that love to get stuck in between your teeth,
Ribs
It is not often that someone will turn down some ribs at a braai. While you are in utter heaven tearing the meat from the bone and licking your fingers, you seldom realise that you have somehow managed to smear your cheek with yummy sauce. What’s even worse is the fact that now you have those meat pieces wedged between your back molars, which will be very uncomfortable and sometimes even painful until you remove them from between your teeth.
Popcorn
Sitting in the movie house with your loved one, watching the latest movie, eating popcorn and all of a sudden one or both of you start to claw at that one kernel stuck under the gum or in between the narrow gaps of your teeth. If these kernels do not get removed they start to rot and can cause halitosis and bad breath. Be sure to remember those toothpicks next time you go to the movies and just to be extra safe take some sugar free gum along with you too.
Toffee Apples
You know the ones, red or green hard and sticky coating around a fresh crisp apple, and all this on a stick. The problem is that the sticky coating clings to your teeth, which could create cavities if the toffee is not removed immediately. It is not just toffee apples, but any sticky and chewy candies. The sugars from these candies get into the grooves of your teeth, and then stay there, and if not removed cause decay.
Raspberries
Yes even some of the healthier foods can cause some problems. A raspberry has about 120 seeds and some get stuck in the back molars, and it can be frustrating to get them out. But don’t forget that raspberries rank high in the antioxidant-rich fruits, so don’t eliminate them from your diet; just make sure to remove the seeds from between your teeth once you are done eating.
Potato chips
Instead of getting stuck in between your teeth potato chips tend to stick in the deep groves on top of the teeth. You feel it when you try to bite down once you have eaten a chip already and there is a lump of junk towards the back of your mouth. To avoid the discomfort rinse the starch away by drinking some water after having eaten the chips, or better yet leave potato chip altogether.
Why it is so important to remove anything stuck between your teeth
Any meat is a protein that will feed those nasty bacteria that cause bad breath and the longer you leave the meat stuck there the worse it will get. Starch(carbohydrates) turns to sugars when being digested and we don’t want this either and in the case of popcorn or anything else that has sharp edges, these can cause tiny lacerations on the gums which will release small amounts of blood (blood) which will have those bad breath bacteria fighting to get there.
The simple answer to the problem is to always keep dental floss nearby and after eating go and rinse out your mouth with water. This will go a long way to keeping the bacteria starved of the nutrition they need to spread.