Eating has always been my lifelong passion. I would consider myself lucky to be living in Sydney, a city of top cuisines from all over the world. So, when I find myself in situations where I am unable to eat freely, I get devastated.
A few months ago, I woke up with a swollen gum at the back of my mouth. I shrugged it off, thinking that it would go away by itself, and proceed with my daily activities as usual. I went to a barbie for a friend’s birthday, I went for Szechuan spicy pot, and I religiously drank my ice-cold coke zeros. Five days later, I couldn’t take it anymore and went to the dentist. He found a terrible crack at the back of my mouth.
The diagnosis made me feel terrible. I had to slow down my eating hobby for a whole week. The worst part was when I had to rejected an invitation to a new restaurant opening in town. It may be sad, but sometimes you have to sacrifice some things to improve your health. But really, what food shouldn’t you eat to avoid further damage to your cracked tooth?
- Hard Food
Biting into hard food puts extra pressure on your teeth, even without any tooth problem, we still struggle to bite into hard food sometimes. Imagine hard rock candy, a baguette or even almonds. Having a crack and forcing yourself to bite into hard food may cause more stress on the affected tooth and cause more problems. Just the thought of it makes my teeth chatter.
- Hot & Cold Foods/ Drinks
Having cold foods like ice cream or cold drinks may worsen your toothache. The extremely low temperature from the food or drink may be overwhelming as your tooth is sensitive. The same goes for hot foods or drinks. The heat from the food or drink may aggravate the toothache and sensitivity. Other than that, if you don’t seem to have a tooth crack and your tooth has funny responses to hard and cold food, you should get it checked.
- Nuts
Hard-shelled nuts like walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, or macadamia nuts may be harmful to your tooth without careful consumption. An avid skier accidentally ate a nutshell; the shell went up his left eye tooth and split it. It cost him around $2,000 to get the tooth extracted and a fake one mounted. Nuts are healthy, but if you are unlucky or already having problems with your teeth you should avoid them or put them in water to soften them.
- Crunchy Produce
Again, although foods like carrot and apple are nutritious, it’s best if you find other healthy alternatives while your tooth is healing. Sometimes a carrot or apple can be quite hard and biting it from a certain angle takes more effort from your teeth - it may cause more damage on the crack. You don’t have to avoid carrot or apple completely, but may consider cutting them in smaller pieces.
When I had my cracked tooth problem, I still managed a few sips of soda without ice. I ate a hotpot takeout one time (I swear it was only one time), but I had to wait until it cooled off. A cracked tooth is a fixable problem and you need to watch your eating habits for a while.