Many of our favorite holidays are here at last! Before the year is through, we will have celebrated a number of joyous times with coworkers, friends, and family.
Most of our favorite holidays involve sugar. We dream about our favorite desserts and indulge in the holiday-themed candy that seems to be calling to us everywhere we turn. Our loved ones may be making sweet dishes as gifts. Even our drinks are laced with sugary delight: hot chocolate, cider, eggnog, and so many others.
How do we keep our teeth from suffering from the negative consequences of our delightful holidays? Consider the following measures to protect your oral health this holiday season.
Drink Your Favorite Beverages in One Sitting
Savoring a cider or hot chocolate is lovely, but these drinks bathe our teeth in sugar. Rather than sipping at these drinks throughout the day, drink your favorite beverages in a single sitting. This keeps your teeth from prolonged exposure to sugar that can feed bacterial growth and lead to other oral health issues.
Have your children finish their drinks while sitting at the table instead of letting them walk off with a sugary beverage that they will come back to in between games and holiday activities. This limits the time that their little teeth are exposed to sugar.
Stay Balanced
Enjoy your favorite treats, but do not skip over the veggie trays or green bean casserole when you show up to the family dinner. These vegetables provide the vitamins you need for healthy teeth and gums.
Do not let your children skip over their vegetables either. Consider keeping their favorite treats back until they finish healthier selections.
Give Your Teeth an Extra Brush
Do not forget to brush and floss during this holiday season. You might even give your teeth an extra brushing session after a holiday party or family get-together.
If you have children, make sure they are brushing vey well, especially before bed.
Floss to Keep Your Teeth Healthy!
Aside from sugar, the other common factor in our holidays are feasts. Anytime we eat, we are depositing food particles into the spaces between teeth, which leads to the production of plaque.
Flossing disrupts any bacterial growth between our teeth and helps us clear out the plaque that can easily lead to gum disease.
Do not forget to help your little ones floss, too!
Try New Recipes!
As you cook up a storm, consider changing up your feast a bit. You can look up recipes for pies and other desserts that offer flavorful changes with a little less sugar.