Americans consume a significant quantity of ultra-processed foods on a daily basis—and for good reason, as they offer convenience and flavor on the cheap. But these foods can cause significant negative health effects on facial appearance and oral health, often in ways you don’t realize. Let our dentists and oral hygienists at Babylon Dental Care tell you how these foods can affect your overall wellness, even beyond what they can do to your teeth.
How Do Ultra-Processed Foods Impact Your Skin & Facial Health?
Ultra-processed foods can easily send you into a caloric excess on a daily basis, but they also harm far more than your waistline: The refined sugars, unhealthy fats, and artificial additives can dramatically affect your face’s skin tone and health over time.
When you consume foods high in refined carbohydrates and sugars, you can trigger rapid blood glucose spikes, which forces your body to respond with inflammation throughout your body—including on your skin.
Additionally, the high sodium content from ultra-processed foods can cause facial puffiness and bloating because of excess water retention, particularly around the eyes and cheeks.
And to make things worse, these foods lack the essential nutrients that your skin needs to maintain health. Without vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants found in organic and minimally processed foods, you leave your skin vulnerable to premature aging and environmental damage.
How Do Ultra-Processed Foods Damage Dental Health?
Skin health aside, ultra-processed foods also create the perfect storm for tooth decay and other oral health problems.
Sugar and tooth decay share an undeniable, well-established connection, as the high sugar content in ultra-processed foods feeds harmful bacteria in your mouth. The excessive amounts of sugars and refined carbs in these foods, and therefore the harmful bacteria that they spread, can increase your risk of cavities and gum disease.
Notice how many ultra-processed foods feel sticky in your mouth? This texture allows food particles to cling to your teeth longer, which can give bacteria an extended opportunity to produce damaging acids. And even with diligent brushing habits, these sticky remnants can resist complete removal.
Fiber in natural and organic foods, like those found in crunch vegetables and fruits, can help counteract these sticky remains by cleaning your teeth naturally; soft, ultra-processed foods typically lack that fibrous texture that helps with that process.
What’s more, if you consistently and exclusively consume soft, ultra-processed foods, you may hamper your jaw development and jaw muscles because they require less chewing effort than whole, fibrous foods do. Reduced chewing strength, in turn, contributes to dental crowding and breathing issues over time.
How Can You Reduce the Impact of Ultra-Processed Foods on Your Face & Teeth?
While the modern diet can make it hard to completely eliminate ultra-processed foods, you can take practical steps to minimize how those processed foods affect your smile and facial appearance.
Start by gradually reducing your consumption of ultra-processed foods and replacing them with whole foods like fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains. For instance, instead of sugary cereals for breakfast, opt for oatmeal; instead of a fast-food burger, try making your own hamburgers at home with ground beef.
Additionally, supplementing your diet with anti-inflammatory foods like fatty fish, nuts, olive oil, and leafy greens will help clear up your skin, strengthen your jaw muscles, advance bone growth under the gum, and provide essential nutrients to your skin and body while supporting your teeth.
After consuming ultra-processed foods, drink plenty of water: Hydration helps wash away food particles and dilutes acids that damage teeth. Consider chewing sugar-free gum after your meals as well, as the act of chewing gum can stimulate saliva production and naturally cleanse your mouth.
Stay consistent with your oral hygiene routine by brushing twice daily, flossing once daily, and using antimicrobial mouthwash to remove any remnant harmful bacteria. Getting a regular dental checkup and cleaning at Babylon Dental Care will help you catch junk food-related skin breakouts or cavity concerns before they develop into serious problems.
Protect Your Smile from Ultra-Processed Foods at Babylon Dental Care
Here at Babylon Dental Care, our oral hygienists and dentists combine personalized attention with advanced dental technology to address all aspects of our New York clientele’s oral health, including diet-related concerns. We firmly believe in the practice’s founding philosophy that “everyone deserves to smile with confidence,” and we will help you get that smile in every way we can.
Call our caring, compassionate team at (631) 983-6665 or fill out our online form to book an appointment today. Let us help you develop habits that will protect your smile for life.