Calcium plays an important role in maintaining oral health. However, people don’t consider the importance of calcium. Calcium not only makes your teeth strong , but also strengthens jaw bones. Deficiency of calcium can increase the risk of tooth decay and gum disease. Therefore, it is very essential for maintaining oral health. You need to make dental care a good start: as early age as possible. Make sure that your kids’ teeth get a good start by eating healthy right from the pregnancy onwards which will help in forming strong teeth for the baby.
Importance of calcium for oral health
Following will help you understand the importance of calcium for oral health :
1) Calcium And Tooth Enamel
Tooth enamel is the hardest substance in your body. Calcium is very important as it has an element that prevents erosion of tooth enamel. But calcium is not made by your body. Lack of calcium in your diet will your body pull the calcium from the bones making them weak. So, it is necessary to increase calcium in your diet in order to avoid enamel erosion.
2) Calcium and tooth decay
Consuming food rich in calcium will help in making your teeth strong, thereby increasing its density. If you are calcium deficient, your teeth will become weak and more prone to decay and other gum infections. Consuming plenty of calcium during early stage of gum disease (gingivitis) can decrease the chances of getting disease more advanced (periodontitis).
3) Calcium and jawbone
90% of calcium is stored in bones and teeth. Your teeth gets nutrients and blood supply from jawbone. If the jawbone (one in the lower jaw) is healthy and strong. It will offer more secure support to teeth, thus reduces the chances of tooth loss due to deterioration of jawbone. For healthy functioning of roots in jawbone, calcium is very essential.
Along with calcium, vitamin D is also required as it helps our body in absorbing calcium from the food we eat. If vitamin D intake is low, calcium is unable to enter and strengthen the bones and teeth. Thus, it is important to take calcium with vitamin D in order to get best results from calcium.
Calcium is, thus, an essential nutrient for oral health. Make sure to consume food sources rich in this nutrient. These sources include milk and its derivatives such as cheese yogurt, etc., plant sources such as spinach, collards, etc. and fish such as sardine, rainbow, etc.