Effective Oral Health Tips this Holiday Season
The holidays can be stressful for many reasons including family events, gift-shopping, parties, and planning vacations. Another form of stress can come from the sugar-laden goodies that surround us at work, home, and parties.
The Holiday Season might as well be called the Sugary Attack Season, the Calorie Pile-on Season, or the Season of Tooth Decay.
During the holidays, sugar is all around us and it is often hard to resist.
How do Sweet Foods and Drinks Cause Cavities?
Sugary food or drinks, feed the bacteria naturally found in your mouth. Feeding the bacteria leads to acids as a result. The acids wear down tooth enamel, making it thinner and increasing the risk of tooth decay as well as other dental issues, including gingivitis.
Your friendly professionals at Warner Lakes Dental have some suggestions about how to take care of your oral health while also maintaining your overall health. By following them you can ensure your mouth, teeth, and gums stay healthy through the holidays.
Helpful Hints for Holiday Dental Health
- Be realistic: Most of us admit that we sometimes sabotage our own plans. No matter what resolutions or goals we set for ourselves, we all have secret, backdoor plans to get out of them. Accept this. If you aren’t perfect? Don’t feel too badly. Instead, keep trying!
- Floss and brush: Brush at least twice a day and floss before bed. Build this in to your routine and don’t ever forget it. Brushing should take two minutes at least and can be timed by humming a song, counting or using an electronic toothbrush with an onboard timer.
- Make fewer sugary choices: Sugar-related problems occur when sugary coating stays on your teeth after eating. Try to choose treats that don’t leave a sticky residue. If you do eat sticky food and cannot brush immediately, rinse your mouth with water after eating.
- Prepare your own healthy snacks and drinks: Unless you shun all social events you probably will be offered holiday drinks and snacks. Avoid rich and sugary items by bringing your own healthy drinks and snacks to events. If you can’t, try to choose any healthy alternatives that are offered.
- Be careful with brittle or sticky foods: Nuts, hard candies, and very sticky foods can damage dentures, bridges and fillings. No time is a good time for a visit to the emergency dentist, and the holidays are probably the worst time.
- Visit your dentist after the holidays: Take a few minutes to contact your Warner dentist and schedule an appointment for January. A minor problem in January could turn out to be a major problem by March. It’s better to get things checked and cleaned after the last of the seasonal excesses to fix any damage that might have been done.
Dental Care at Warner Lakes Dental
At Warner Lakes Dental your oral health is important to us. We provide gentle, quality care for all conditions and work to prevent disease, decay, and too many dentist appointments in the future. Our commitment to our patients is dental health for the holidays and beyond!
We are your trusted dental care partners in Warner. Call us today or book your appointment online.
