A lovely smile brightens up the face and healthy teeth are key to having a smile that engages the world! Good teeth are often built in the early years from having sufficient nutrients, particularly calcium and vitamin D in the diet. But what other nutrients are important?

Clinical Nutritionist, Suzie Sawyer, shares the five most important nutrients for a lovely smile.

CALCIUM

It’s the most abundant mineral in both the bones and teeth, therefore it’s important to have sufficient in the diet. If you missed out during childhood, for whatever reason, it’s never too late to make sure your diet is calcium-rich. Whilst dairy foods are some of the richest sources of calcium many people are intolerant or have an allergy to dairy foods.

The good news is that there are many dairy alternative milks which are naturally rich in calcium or are fortified such as soya, coconut and almond. There are also a great variety of dairy-free yoghurts to enjoy. Green leafy vegetables, sesame seeds, fish with bones such as sardines and tinned salmon, beans and lentils are all rich sources. Kale contains some of the most absorbable calcium around! The best advice is to include a variety of foods containing calcium in your diet.

VITAMIN D

Known as the sunshine vitamin, Vitamin D actually goes hand in hand with calcium when it comes to healthy teeth and bones – in fact calcium needs vitamin D to do its job properly. Even though summer is on its way, with hopefully more sunshine, sunscreen and lack of time out in the sun means we’re often still vitamin D deficient. If you want healthy teeth, you should ideally be taking a vitamin D supplement all-year round containing at least 10 micrograms. And Public Health England supports this recommendation.

Interestingly, foods such as oily fish with bones that are high in calcium, also contain some vitamin D, so get that barbeque lit and cook up some sardines!

COQ10

CoQ10 is a vitamin-like substance that is naturally produced in the body but diminishes with age and is frequently deficient. In fact, CoQ10 is a very powerful antioxidant working hard throughout the body holding back age-related diseases. However, it’s also been found to be very effective at reducing gum disease through supplementation¹.

CoQ10 is found in many foods including organ meats, beef and pork, oily fish, leafy greens such as spinach and cauliflower as well as oranges, although not in great amounts. It’s been found that as little as 50 mg of CoQ10 in supplement form, daily, can help reduce the severity of periodontal disease. It’s actually the gums that can be problematic as the years roll by, leading to pain, bleeding from the gums and loss of teeth, all detrimental to a healthy smile!

VITAMIN C

Vitamin C is key in the production of collagen. Since collagen is the most abundant protein in the body, it make sense that teeth will also contain some. Plus vitamin C is our key antioxidant helping to fight damaging free radicals that attack all parts of the body, and unfortunately, the gums are no exception.

Eating plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables, particularly strawberries (in season right now and delicious with some calcium-rich cream), cherries, sweet red peppers, kiwi fruits and leafy greens are also teeth and gum-friendly. Certain fruits, particularly citrus fruits are acidic and may attack tooth enamel. If you do eat them (and they’re particularly rich in vitamin C), rinse your mouth out with water afterwards and don’t brush your teeth for at least 30 minutes after eating to allow the enamel to settle.

MAGNESIUM

Magnificent magnesium is one of the other key minerals for healthy teeth and gums². It’s as essential as calcium; magnesium helps to develop hard enamel that covers the teeth. Foods which contain magnesium include nuts and seeds but the good news is that it’s rich also in foods that are abundant in vitamin C, particularly green leafy vegetables. For a real ‘green’ hit, why not whizz up a green juice containing cucumber, pear, parsley, spinach and some mint for a really summery twist!

Magnesium is frequently deficient in the daily diet, partly because of our over-reliance on convenience foods and it’s depleted by stress. However, with some careful planning and also including wholegrains and nuts and seeds in your diet, you’ll have plenty to smile about!

So make sure to build a healthy smile this summer with these top teeth nutrients!

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