Why watermelon is called the best summer fruit for teeth and gums?
Dr. D.Sendhil Nathan MDS, DNB Prosthodontics And Implantology
Watermelon is the most preferred summer seasonal fruit in India. There are 5 basic types of watermelons available – seeded, seedless, mini, yellow, and orange. Unlike a few summer fruits and flavored drinks, this low-calorie, sweet fruit is alkaline so eating a slice of watermelon or drinking its juice helps neutralize the acidic imbalances in your body. Similarly, it provides many perks to your teeth and gums.
Is watermelon too high in sugar?
Many people believe that watermelon is loaded with sugar because of its delicious taste. Surprisingly, the sweet-tasty fruit contains a low amount of natural sugar. Studies show that 100 grams of raw watermelon hold only 6.2 grams of sugar.
Watermelons are composed mostly of water, carbohydrates, and fibers. It is a great source of vitamins and minerals. Here is the nutritional value of watermelons:
- Carbohydrates
- Vitamin A
- Vitamin C
- Vitamin B-6
- Iron
- Calcium
- Fibers
- Copper
Moreover, watermelons contain powerful antioxidants like lycopene that are powerful to promote bone health and dental health.
How do watermelons benefit your oral health?
Watermelons keep your body cool whilst refreshing the mouth and makes you enjoy the following dental benefits:
- Enhance saliva production – About 90% of watermelon is composed of water. Hence it makes your mouth filled with saliva once you bite a slice of watermelon. Moreover, its fibrous compounds in the fruit require more chewing thereby watermelons induce the salivary glands to produce more saliva. Besides providing hydration, the increased salivary flow helps eliminate bad bacteria inside the mouth.
- Remove debris – The increased salivation is in conjunction with the threads in the watermelon reaching the tiny spaces (interdental spaces) between the teeth. Hence the tiny particles like food leftovers stuck in those regions will come out. Such debris lodged between the teeth attract more bacteria to form a calcified substance to infect teeth, gums, and other oral tissues. This is the reason why dentists prescribe flossing to clean between the teeth.
- Whitens the stained teeth – Watermelons contain malic acid that is well-known for its bleaching properties. The enhanced salivation is partnered with malic acid to scrub against the teeth surfaces. Hence the stains, discoloration agents on the teeth are cleaned naturally.
- Provides Gum protection – As discussed earlier, watermelons are rich in Vitamin C. It is essential nutrition to keep the connective tissues in gums healthy. It also lends its support in slowing down the progress of plaque build-up. Thus watermelons strengthen your gums and protect the gum tissues from bacterial invasion.
- Shield your lips – Oral care is incomplete without protecting your lips but many are not unaware of this fact. Lips have high exposure to sunlight thereby dry, cracked lips are inevitable during summer. Eating watermelons hydrate the lips and protect them from getting dryness, and chapped.
Bottom line
As the sunny season is on its way, you can avail summer fruits like grapes, pineapples, watermelons, oranges, etc to combat the heat. Likewise, beverages like buttermilk, coconut water, sugarcane juice, barley water are also helpful in refreshing and replenishing your body. However, the contents and ingredients added to such coolants are quite detrimental to your teeth.
If you want dental-friendly fruits to beat the body heat, a few fruits and veggies will exist on the list. Watermelon will stand top there.
