You probably know that sugary foods aren’t great for your teeth or for your overall health. However, did you know that other ingredients can positively affect the health of your mouth? Some foods, such as dark chocolate, could actually have a number of benefits.

Sugary foods don’t actually hurt your teeth by themselves, but can create an environment where bad bacteria thrive. These bad bacteria can ultimately produce acid, which will break down the protective layer of your teeth, known as enamel. Fortunately, there are several things you can do to protect your enamel, such as eating foods with tannin. Tannin can actually reduce the acids in your mouth. Dark chocolate is one food that often contains tannin.

Tannin is an ingredient that is found in cocoa. You can expect to enjoy more benefits from dark chocolate than from milk chocolate, because dark chocolate often contains more cocoa. Furthermore, dark chocolate has less sugar in it than milk chocolate does. So eating dark chocolate could actually have a number of benefits.

Still, there are a few things you should be careful with, especially if you enjoy dark chocolate. You see, eating too much food with tannin can actually stain your teeth—though you should be able to avoid this problem simply by brushing your teeth about 30 minutes after you eat dark chocolate.

If you’re interested in learning more about maintaining the health of your mouth, please don’t hesitate to give Thompson Dental a call at 949-558-0111. Our dentist, Dr. Thompson, will be happy to answer any questions you may have and examine the health of your mouth. We look forward to hearing from you.