Healthy Teeth At Christmas

Some festive tips on looking after your teeth and gums at this indulgent time of year.

As this may be the last blog that we post before the Christmas festivities begin, we thought that we would take a look at how you can avoid damaging your teeth over the holiday period. Whilst this might be the last thing on most people’s minds right now, we are sure that no one wants to end up needing an emergency dental appointment over the Christmas and New Year period.

The good news is that, by following some simple guidelines, the chances are that you will be able to keep your teeth and gums in good health at this time of the year.

Sweets, chocolates and other sugary fun

Dentists are human, and like everyone else, a good proportion of us will, no doubt, eat our fair share of sugary products this Christmas. The key really is moderation, and of course, making sure that you clean your teeth well. Here are a few simple tips.

Try to replace at least some of your sweets and chocolates with tooth friendly products. A savoury alternative such as cheese is an excellent choice and will also help to restore the acid balance in your mouth.

Don’t graze. The biggest problem with eating sweets at this time of the year is that we tend to eat them continually over a longer period of time. This means that our saliva does not have time to wash away the sugars as it would if we had left sufficient time in between.

Although generally we recommend cleaning your teeth morning and night, it may be advisable to give them an additional clean in the middle of the day on the days when you overindulge.

Alcohol

We have discussed the role of alcohol in gum disease in previous blogs and again the key really lies in moderation. It is also likely that there will be some people who rarely drink at other times of the year, but who may drink more at Christmas, and may be at a greater risk of accidents because of it. Unfortunately, it is often our face that suffers if we trip or fall because of too much alcohol consumption! So please try to drink in moderation, maybe alternating your alcoholic beverages with water or soft drinks.

Also, remember to use your teeth for what they are designed, and not for breaking into difficult to open parcels or beer bottles. Accidents do, and will happen, and this is one sure way to increase your chances!

Finally, we wish all of our Burton and Ashby dental patients a wonderful Christmas and New Year from all of the staff at Alexandra Dental Care.

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