Dreaming of shedding a few pounds? Be careful how you do it or your weight-loss efforts could become a dental-health nightmare.

The best way to lose weight is to exercise regularly while eating a well-balanced diet. Unfortunately, many people have problems keeping to such a plan and may try extreme approaches to slimming down, with potential negative consequences to their oral health.

A well-balanced diet is crucial to maintaining good dental health. But diets can include changes in both what you eat and how you eat, which can affect your teeth. Radical changes in how you eat to accelerate weight loss may put your teeth at risk. Diet pills that decrease the flow of saliva also may pose a risk to your dental fitness. People with eating disorders that cause them to binge and purge may gradually damage the enamel of their teeth with exposure to stomach acids.

Changing Your Diet

Your teeth require certain vitamins and minerals to remain healthy and strong. People who try to lose weight by fasting or switching to an extreme diet may deprive their bodies of adequate levels of key nutrients. For example, a vegetarian diet may not offer adequate levels of:

• Calcium
• Proteins
• Vitamin B2
• Vitamin B12
• Vitamin D