Now is the perfect time to schedule your
annual dental checkup, especially with the holidays in full swing. Having
healthy teeth and gums before you start indulging in those sweet treats will
help your conscious and let you enjoy the things you only get to have once a
year.
An annual dental checkup isn’t just for your
teeth and gums. According to statistics, people who have a comprehensive dental
exam have a better chance of oral cancer detection earlier than patients who
haven’t had an oral cancer screening.
During the holidays, those cakes, candies,
cookies, cakes and other delicious irresistible goodies can cause serious
problems for your teeth.
Hard Candy-According to Gentle Touch Family
Dental hard candies, peanut brittle, candy canes, and those scrumptious butterscotch
hard candies can chip your teeth. If you don’t bite and like to dissolve every
drop your teeth will be enjoying a pure sugar bath. If you like to eat hard candies,
be sure and rinse and brush or enjoy with another meal.
Chewy Morsels-Caramels, gummy bears and
anything sticky will stay on your teeth. It is nearly impossible to brush away
all of the sticky sugar from the fissures and grooves on the back of your teeth.
Even dried fruit such as figs, mangos, apricots, dates and pineapple will
remain on your teeth quickly converting to bacteria eating away the enamel on
your teeth. If you must indulge rinse with water and brush when you can. According
to Gentle Touch Family Dentistry, it isn’t a bad idea to eat sticky food as
part of a meal.
Starchy Foods-Those chocolate covered
pretzels are double the trouble. The chocolate is loaded with sugar and the
pretzels are starchy leaving their presence in your mouth long after you have
savored the last one on your plate. Keep breads, cookies, cakes, potato chips,
crackers and any other starchy food to minimum and rinse and brush after
enjoying.
Happy Holidays from Glen Family Dentistry and
don’t forget to schedule your annual dental checkup for the New Year today.
