So you brush your teeth after every meal, choose herbal tea over fizzy drinks, and snack on fruit not sweets.

想必你一定会在饭后必刷牙，喝花草茶而不喝汽水，吃零食时会用水果来代替甜品。

It might sound like the ideal formula for perfect teeth, but, actually, it’s not. In fact, any one of those habits could increase your risk of dental erosion or decay.

听上去，这些都是让你拥有一口完美牙齿的理想方案，可事实并非如此。其实，有这些习惯的人更有可能长蛀牙。

Here, we reveal some of the other surprising things that could ruin your smile:

让我们来看看这些有可能毁掉你的牙齿和可爱笑容的因素吧。

HERBAL TEA
花草茶

Fruit-flavoured tea can be three times more damaging than orange juice, a study found. Many fruit teas are acidic and eat away at tooth enamel, with lemon and blackcurrant among the most damaging.

一项研究发现，果味茶对牙齿的损害是橘子汁的三倍。很多果茶都是酸性的，会慢慢侵蚀掉牙表面的釉质，其中要属柠檬和黑加仑的腐蚀性最强。

REDUCE THE RISK: Stick to black or green tea. Compounds in black tea can attack the bacteria that form plaque and prevent the plaque from sticking to teeth, U.S. researchers found.

如何补救：只喝红茶和绿茶。美国的研究人员发现，红茶中的多种化合物可以杀灭导致牙菌斑的细菌，也可以防止牙菌斑粘附在牙齿上。

More recently, a study at the University of Tohoku in Japan found that drinking one or more cups of green tea a day reduces the risk of cavities. It is thought antioxidants, called catechins, in the tea stop bacteria in the mouth from producing acid.

近日，日本东北大学的研究表明每天喝一杯以上的绿茶可以减少蛀牙几率。他们认为茶叶中含有一种叫儿茶素的抗氧化剂，可以抑制口腔中的细菌产生酸性物质。

HEALTHY SNACKS
健康小食品

Even if you’re snacking on healthy fruit, seeds and nuts, it’s eating little and often that can do your teeth harm.

尽管你选择的可能是健康的水果和坚果，可正是少食多餐的做法损害了你的牙齿健康。

‘A tooth can withstand five acid attacks a day,’ says one researcher. ‘Saliva takes about an hour to ¬neutralise the acid created by a food or drink. So if you have a can of fizzy drink and sip it all day long, then the acid in your mouth will be under ¬constant attack.’

研究人员表示：“牙齿每天能抵抗五次的酸性物质侵蚀。唾液要用一小时的时间才能中和掉由食物和饮料产生的酸性物质。这样一来，如果你一整天都在小口啜饮一罐饮料，就等于那些酸性物质一直在攻击你的牙齿。”

REDUCE THE RISK: Stick to three meals a day and avoid snacking. If you must snack, eat it all at once, rather than picking at it, so that the saliva can quickly neutralise the acid generated in the mouth. After food, rinse your mouth out with water or chew sugar-free gum to encourage saliva, which neutralises the acid.

如何补救：一日三餐外少吃零食。如果特别想吃，那么不要小口小口吃，一次吃完，这样唾液可以尽快的中和掉口腔中的酸性物质。吃完后漱口或者嚼无糖口香糖促进唾液分泌，以助中和酸性。

EYE DROPS
眼药水

It sounds unlikely, but anti-inflammatory eye drops can contribute to tooth decay. They are one of a number of drugs — including antidepressants, ibuprofen, antihistamines and blood pressure medications — that cause dry mouth, which means they reduce the production of saliva.

这听上去有些不可思议，但是消炎眼药水的的确确会引起蛀牙。消炎眼药水连同抗抑郁药、镇痛消炎药、抗组胺药和降血压药这些药品都会让你觉得口干，也就是说它们会抑制唾液分泌。

Saliva acts as a barrier, protecting the teeth by neutralising acidic foods such as oranges, and the acid produced by bacteria as they break down foods.

而唾液正像一道保护牙齿的屏障，把橘子等酸性食物以及细菌分解食物产生的酸性物质中和掉。

REDUCE THE RISK: ‘There are gums, lozenges and gels available over the counter specifically for dry mouth that help encourage the production of saliva,’ says Karen. ‘You could also suck sugar-free sweets for the same effect.’

如何补救：凯伦说：“口干的话，口香糖，含片和牙胶都是无需处方就可以买到的，这些东西都有助唾液分泌。也可以呷吧呷吧无糖的甜食，效果是一样的。”

SWIMMING
游泳

A study of 500 swimmers found 66 per cent of them had damaged teeth as a result of chlorine.

一项由500名游泳爱好者参与的研究发现，其中66%的人牙齿会受到氯的侵害。

‘Chlorine affects the pH of the water and makes it acidic, so swallowing it can lead to tooth ¬erosion,’ says a researcher.

研究人员称：“氯会改变水的PH值，使之变成酸性，吞咽了这些水会导致蛀牙。”

‘This can result in yellowing teeth – because the acid strips the enamel and starts to reveal darker-coloured dentine underneath. It is not a ¬common problem, but may be an issue for regular swimmers who spend a long time in the pool each day.’

“此外氯还会导致一口黄牙，因为酸性物会剥蚀掉釉质，致使后层颜色较深的牙质显露出来。尽管这不算是普遍问题，但对于那些每天都泡在游泳池的人来说，这个问题不容忽视。”

REDUCE THE RISK: Try to keep your mouth closed while swimming. Don’t brush your teeth straight after your dip because at this time the surface of the teeth could be softened by the acidic chlorine and could be more easily brushed away.

如何补救：游泳时紧闭嘴唇，游完之后不要立即刷牙，因为这时牙表面可能正好被酸性的氯软化了，这样釉质会被轻易地刷掉。