Tips for Enjoying the Holiday and Protecting Your Teeth

Despite the holidays being bad for your dental health, there are many ways to still enjoy the holiday while protecting your teeth. We’ve mentioned some already, but here are a few more.

  • Drink plenty of water while you eat
    • If you’re eating throughout the day, you aren’t giving your saliva long enough to build up and clean your teeth. Drink plenty of water so the food you’re eating doesn’t stick and stay on your teeth for long.
  • Brush, rinse and floss if you can
  • Many of you may be traveling this Thanksgiving or Christmas. While you may be out of town, you can still bring a toothbrush, mouthwash and floss with you to take care of your teeth between meals. At the very least, bring some floss with you so you can clean in between your teeth after snacking.
  • Think of our autumn and Christmas colors. Those colors came from many of the foods we consume during the season, while others were made to match the seasonal colors. These colors are bright and vibrant and ready to stain those pearly whites.
  • Cranberries
  • Turkey
  • Mashed potatoes
  • Yogurt
  • Milk
  • Pumpkin
  • Carrots
  • Squash
  • Onions
  • Spinach
  • Pomegranates
  • Cheese
  • Vegetables
  • Nuts
  • Peppermint-flavored beverages (particularly tea)
  • Gingerbread cookies (less sugar than other baked goods)
  • Dark chocolate (stick to high cacao content chocolate (70-85%)
  • Candy canes
  • Caramel
  • Hard candies
  • Sour candies
  • Sticky and chewy candies
  • Sugary Baked Goods
  • Carbonated and Sugary Drinks
  • White wine
  • Ideally, you should resist the temptation to snack throughout the day. Consuming holiday foods only at mealtimes is better for your oral health.
  • Sugar is in a lot more than desserts. Read product labels, research sugary foods and choose which sugary foods you want to indulge in that day. For instance, do you want that piece of pecan pie or would you rather have the glass of eggnog? Both contain a lot of sugar. Limiting your intake of sugar means making some tough choices (unless you don’t like eggnog, in which case you may have to make another food/beverage choice).
  • TIP: If you are having a hard time limiting your sugar intake. Save the treat that will keep for another day.
  • The holiday season is actually a good time to schedule a routine dental checkup if you haven’t had one in a while. Keep those pearly whites clean and healthy before Christmas (and after).
  • TIP: Find out holiday hours of your dentist’s office so you aren’t left in a bind. And remember what to do should a dental emergency arise while you are gone on holiday.
  • Stay away from teeth-staining foods
  • Consume healthy holiday foods, like:
  • Avoid unhealthy holiday foods. This includes:
  • Only consume foods at mealtimes instead of snacking throughout the day
  • Limit the number of times you eat sugar throughout the day
  • Schedule a dentist appointment

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