As the holiday season rolls around, you will encounter an abundance of sugary treats. While this is a big part of the holiday cheer, it’s significantly less cheerful for your teeth. However, these five tips can help you keep your teeth healthy without putting a damper on your enjoyment.
1. Eat a Balanced Diet
Be sure to balance those sweet treats with plenty of healthy foods like fresh fruit and vegetables. These foods help improve salivary production, which is your mouth’s first line of defense against tooth decay. Saliva helps remove leftover bits of food and washes away the acids and bacteria that can damage teeth. Furthermore, the minerals in these foods will help to reinforce tooth structure.
2. Take Care with Sticky Candies
Chewy treats like caramels and taffy are especially bad for your teeth. These foods adhere to the nooks and crannies in your teeth, creating an ideal breeding ground for bacteria and plague. In addition, the acidity of the sugar can also wear away at tooth enamel, causing decay and pain. It’s best to limit your consumption of these candies, and when you do eat them, make sure you brush afterward.
3. Rinse
Even after you eat non-sticky candies and foods, there will still be ample amounts of sugar and acids left behind. Not only can these contribute to bad breath but they can also cause decay if left there. Fortunately, there’s a quick solution that can be done anywhere. Simply rinse out your mouth with water when you’re finished indulging.
4. Go Sugar Free
There are a wide variety of candies available that are sugar-free, yet taste just as good as conventional options. Those meant for diabetics are often sweetened with xylitol, a sugar alcohol that has actually been shown to protect teeth from decay. It does this by preventing oral bacteria from metabolizing sugars into erosion-causing acids. If you have to have candy, try substituting sugary candies for sugar-free ones whenever possible.
5. Be Wary of Hard Candies
Hard candies are popular holiday treats. However, as tempting as they might be, you may want to consider avoiding them. They’re responsible for a surprisingly large number of tooth injuries, like cracks and breaks. These conditions can be very painful and may necessitate an emergency visit to your dentist.
The holiday season holds many perils for your oral health. Tooth decay, cracks and breaks and tooth pain are all things you must take into consideration. By following these five tips and paying a visit to a quality dental clinic like Brantford Mall Dental Office, you can more effectively protect your teeth without sacrificing the holiday cheer.
