How to Take Care of Your Teeth Over the Holiday Season

For anyone who is concerned about their dental hygiene over the coming months, fear not! Holiday foods often lead to sweets and alcohol in celebration. While indulging in sugar every once in a while is just fine, going heavy on these foods can start to hurt your teeth if you are not being careful with keeping up your regular dental hygiene practices. 

‍

Aim for some healthy foods.

The holidays are a great time to slow down and reconnect with friends and family, and oftentimes it all takes place around a table full of delicious comfort foods. Some of these foods only make their way to your table once a year, so feel free to indulge! But finding balance with things like raw fruits and vegetables, plus a lot of water, can help keep your teeth feeling strong and clean despite having some of the foods that might otherwise cause wear on them. 

‍

Keep up with water intake. 

Not only is this important for overall health (which needs to be maintained through the cold and flu season), but it is also important for your dental health. Your teeth benefit massively from drinking water because it is essentially like a rinse after eating. Drinking water or rinsing your mouth can help to carry away some of the residue that remains on your teeth from food.

‍

Stay consistent with your dental care routine. 

We all know that we should be brushing our teeth twice a day, and flossing each day at minimum. Maybe you have a more extensive routine, and maybe your routine remains at the basic level. Either way, making sure that you maintain this routine over the holidays is another crucial step to avoiding any damage to your teeth or dental health. There are plenty of distractions that take place during the holidays, but prioritizing your dental hygiene routine is something you will end up thanking yourself for later on.

‍

Avoid the hard, chewy, and sticky, sugary candies. 

Candy canes and other fun holiday candies are limited to one time of year, but some things are better to avoid entirely. Candy is famously known for damaging teeth, and avoiding it as much as you can is an easy way to avoid damage to your teeth and gums. That does not mean you cannot partake in having a holiday dessert, it just means trying not to eat candy as that dessert if you can.

‍

Schedule your next teeth cleaning appointment ahead of time.

Get your name on the books at Apple Tree Dental before our appointments get booked up. This time of year, many people find themselves worrying about cavities or other dental issues, and having an appointment ready to go can help you put your mind at ease. At Apple Tree Dental, we want you to feel happy and comfortable. We also want you to enjoy the holidays and feel like you can partake in all the fun with family and friends. By scheduling your next cleaning with us, we can make sure that you do not experience any setbacks in your dental hygiene journey this holiday season.

‍