As this will be our last Sync Dental Centres blog of 2020, we thought that it would be timely to take a look at the festive season ahead and the sorts of things that you can do to keep your teeth and gums in good health at this time. Although year round dental care is very important, there is little doubt that Christmas and New Year pose some particular challenges to our oral health. In addition to that, many dental practices will be closed for some of the time making seeking treatment more tricky if you do have a problem.
On that subject, in the event that you do need to see a dentist urgently, either because of a severe toothache or significant damage to your teeth, please call us in the first instance. If it is on a day when we are closed, please listen to the recorded message which will advise you on what steps you need to take next in order to receive treatment.
So, onwards to our advice. Christmas and New Year are times when we tend to over indulge in many things, some of which are potentially harmful to our teeth. With the year that we have all just had, it may well be that this is even more so the case this year. You can still have a great Christmas though, without causing harm to your teeth and gums. The following are a few suggestions to help you do just that.
Ask any dentist at the Sync Dental Centres and they will tell you that sugar is one of the worst things for our teeth. That fact is pretty well known but still we consume large amounts of it. This is likely to be even more the case over the festive period as we eat our way through chocolates, cakes, mince pies and numerous other foods that are laden with sugar.
It doesn’t matter how bad these are for our teeth, we all know that we will eat them. The key is to try to do so in moderation and remember that we should leave some time between each one so that our teeth can recover and our saliva wash some of the sugars away before we eat any more. This is a better approach than the constant ‘nibbling’ that we are likely to do throughout the day.
Alcohol is harmful for our teeth and especially our gums. Drinking often leads to a reduction in saliva, caused by dehydration, and may leave us with a dry mouth overnight. This provides an ideal environment for potentially harmful bacteria to thrive and gum disease may follow. Excess consumption of alcohol may also lead to accidents and falls, with potential damage, or even loss of teeth. Try to moderate your intake of alcohol and remember to drink plenty of water. Not only will this help to temper the effects of the alcohol but will keep you better hydrated and help you avoid the risks of having a dry mouth at night.
After a long day of cooking, entertaining, looking after the kids (and probably tidying up a lot of presents!), it is no wonder that we might feel really tired at the end of the day. Once everyone else has gone home, there is every chance that all we will want to do is to crawl into bed and go to sleep. It might be tempting to go to bed without cleaning our teeth ‘just this once’ but we really shouldn’t, especially given the amount of sugary food and drink we are likely to have consumed during the day.
However tired you might feel after your busy day, do make sure to take the time to brush your teeth, and preferably floss as well, before you get into bed. It only takes a few minutes and is essential to help prevent both tooth decay and gum disease.
If you follow these guidelines, you should hopefully sail through Christmas and the New Year without any dental problems at all.
We hope that you all have a great Christmas, however you are celebrating it and, like everyone else, we hope that 2021 brings a much happier year than this one that few of us will be sorry to leave behind.
Remember that our Addlestone dental clinic will be open in the new year, not only for routine dental care, but to help those hoping to have a great looking smile too. With treatments like teeth whitening, veneers and dental implants available, we are here to help you.
If you would like advice on planning for cosmetic dental treatments in the new year, please call the Sync Dental Centres on 01932 856541.