Enjoy These Summer Foods with Dental Implants

Summertime is grilling season, but you can feel left out if you have missing teeth or traditional tooth replacements. While bridges and dentures are great ways to show a complete and beautiful smile, they have some difficulty with tougher foods. The good news is that, once they have fully fused to your jaw, dental implants allow you to chew as well as natural teeth. Read on to learn more about chowing down with dental implants at the July barbeque.

Get Ready for a Steak-Out

Steak is generally revered as one of the most delicious foods known to humanity. Part of this exquisite dining experience is that meaty texture that really makes you savor all the juices. Unfortunately, missing teeth can limit your ability to chew such a fine cut of meat. Even traditional tooth replacements like dentures don’t offer the same bite power as your natural teeth.  On the other hand, dental implants make steak into perfectly chewable fare.

Don’t Live Robbed of Corn-on-the-Cob

Corn-on-the-cob is a staple of cookouts near and far. It’s a sweet, smoky, flavorful treat that you can dress up with butter, spices, sauces, and pretty much whatever else you want. While many people eat it straight off the cob, this can get kernels stuck between your teeth and dental implants. This can cause gum disease by allowing bacteria to grow there. A good workaround is to cut the corn from the cob and eat it from a plate. That way you get all that wonderful flavor while keeping your implants in good shape.

Beware of Sugary Drinks

If you’ve gone to a lot of cookouts, you’ve probably gotten used to seeing coolers full of canned beverages. While sodas and juices can be quite refreshing and great for cooling off, they are also full of sugar and acid that erode enamel and breed bacteria that lead to gum disease. These infections can cause dental implants to fail. Try swapping out the soda for water since it has many oral health benefits like promoting saliva production and helping wash away sugary residue.

Even if you skip these syrupy concoctions, that barbeque sauce you might slather all over your chicken or ribs can be even more sugar-heavy. This doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy these sweet treats, but keep in mind that moderation is key.

Once dental implants have fused to your jaw, they are as sturdy as real teeth and can function in the same way. This means that the summertime feasts will be yours to enjoy. While the process requires some adjustment on your part, the result is worth the effort.

About the Author

Dr. Justin Braga received his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of the Pacific in San Francisco before attaining his certificate in Periodontics and his Masters in Craniofacial Biology from the University of Southern California. With over fifteen years of experience in dentistry, he leads a practice providing periodontal therapy, regenerative dentistry, cosmetic periodontics, and dental implants. If you wish to learn more about the benefits of dental implants, contact his office online or dial (714) 587-9094.