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Your dental health is always important, but sometimes during the holidays we slip up and eat too much fruit cake, apple pie or even …candy. What are the best ways to keep your teeth healthy during this time? Obviously you want to keep your routine of brushing, flossing and getting your regular checkups, but there are a few other things you might want to consider. Here are three ways to keep that healthy smile clean over the holidays.
- Drink the right things. Avoid drinks like soda, tea, coffee, and red wine. These drinks can create ugly stains on your teeth. If you do drink them, make sure to rinse out your mouth with a glass of water afterward. Water is the best and healthiest liquid to consume. It controls your bad breath, washes away food particles and bacteria, and helps you avoid dry mouth.
- Eat healthy. We know it’s hard, but try to avoid sweets and sugary foods. Cakes, cookies, pies, candy and chocolate are bad for your teeth, and high in calories too. While you may not be able to completely avoid sweets during the holidays, try to stick to healthy snacks like vegetables, citrus fruit which help stimulate saliva production which neutralizes the acids produced by plaque and also helps remove dead cells and food particles that accumulate in the mouth. You can also try parsley, cinnamon and peppermint. Parsley and cinnamon help with breath freshness. You can also drop peppermint oil into your water to help with your bad breath. If you do eat sweets, be sure to rinse with water right afterwards.
- Avoid chewing on hard candy or ice cubes. Crunching on ice or hard candy can lead to cracked or chipped teeth, which are painful and can happen at the worst moment, right in the middle of the big christmas party. Let your candy or ice cubes dissolve naturally in your mouth. Chewing on hard objects puts too much stress on teeth.
Happy Holidays![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]