Yen

Hey there 50-plussers, it's been a long time since I've been here and I'm now 60! How did that happen? We're still riding and enjoying every mile with smiles.

I'm awaiting a dental implant next month (titanium vs. zirconium, still debating that) to replace an old root-canaled tooth that led to infection to the bone. But wait, there's more: I also have almost a dozen (!!!) crowns and a few remaining old root canals. This is my first implant, and I'm determined to make it my last. Thanks to religious use of my Water-pik, and careful flossing and brushing, in the past several years I've had much fewer problems and almost never any new decay. However, I am making certain dietary changes to prevent this from ever happening again. I've given up 99% grains and sugar, coffee and reduced overall phytic-acid intake to almost nothing... also beefed up mineral intake, more healthy fats for the very important fat-soluble vitamins (grass-fed butter! pastured eggs! whole-fat milk, liver), bone broths, etc.

Anyway..... I'm gathering some nutritious and effective tooth/gum-friendly snacks to eat on longer rides, that won't stick to my gums and are easy to rinse out with water. That leaves out raisins, Lara bars, Gu, Cliff bars, and any other sticky/gummy foods. A few that come to mind:
- Apple wedges
- Soft nuts (walnuts)
- Good well-fermented sourdough bread with smooth natural (sugarless) peanut butter and maybe a spread of coconut oil.

I would love to see some other ideas. Thank you!

_ForceD_

Yen - There's a Training & Nutrition forum (https://www.bikeforums.net/training-nutrition/). That might be a better question for folks who frequent it. I'm not much into nutrition.

Dan

Yen

Oh yes, thank you - I forgot about that forum. I came straight here, thinking that perhaps the older riders (50-60+) might have similar dental experiences and concerns. I'll post in the T&N forum as well. Thank you!

DaveQ24

String cheese and boiled eggs are two things I like to take on a ride - if it's summer, I just put them on a little bag of ice and zip into my pack. Soft, good nutrition.

George

I think if you have good O rings and keep them updated every 6 months, you shouldn't have to worry about what you eat.

Welcome back.

canklecat

Try gel packs for energy while riding with few or no breaks.

But if you're riding far enough, long enough to eat real food, take a toothbrush, small container of mouthwash (the stuff that's painful to swish around, like Listerine -- works well on plaque) and hydrogen peroxide. Use of the latter -- peroxide -- is occasionally challenged so check with your dentist. I've used it as a final rinse for years and it's helped reduce gum inflammations.

Ditto, Water Piks. Great devices. There's even a smaller battery powered one. The rechargeable kinds last only about a year, though.

Might seem like overkill but it'll all fit in a a pouch in a rack bag or handlebar bag. None of my rides are far enough or long enough to need all this, but if I still took 100 mile or longer rides and was gone overnight I'd carry a full tooth care kit.

RonH

Thanks to a trend that started with a crappy dentist who pulled 6 teeth in 2 weeks when I was in the USAF many years ago, most of my upper teeth are gone and I have a partial that had taken their place. I too have found that I can't eat sticky, gooey foods. I take GU gels, Hammer gels and (Clif) Kit's Organic bars (pumpkin/cherry or peanut butter) for my riding snacks. With the bars I have to take small bites and chew carefully or it tends to stick to the partial and that's not fun.