With the holiday season here, sweet treats are all around us. As delicious as they are, unfortunately, they are the leading cause for tooth decay.
And with all of the present-wrapping and card-writing, there’s not a lot of time to devote to your health. To help you out, My Local Dentists Northmead has partnered with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to come up with 12 tips for maintaining your dental health during the holidays.
We’ve put together 4 great tactics to make an advent calendar dental-smart as well as 8 bonus tips to make your holiday seasons a healthy and happy one for you, your loved ones, and their teeth! Together we can make this holiday festive, fun, and full of healthy smiles!
A Healthy Advent Calendar
- Holiday Activity Fun – For each day of the calendar come up with a fun holiday activity that you can do as a family. Write that activity down on a slip of paper and tuck one note into each day of your advent calendar.
- Story-A-Day – Nothing beats a good story. Pick out a holiday-themed book for every day of your countdown. Have your child open a new book each night at bedtime and read it together
- A Puzzling Treat – Give your child a fun challenge with a customized puzzle. Draw a picture or write a special message on a blank puzzle. Break the pieces apart and place one puzzle piece in each day of your advent calendar.
- Sugar-Free Trinkets – Find some simple trinkets to fill each day on your calendar instead of candy. The dollar store is a great place to find fun items without spending a lot.
Tips For Tiptop Dental Health During The Holidays
- Keep to your routine. Santa’s elves always brush their teeth two times a day, for two minutes, and they make sure to floss (with the reindeer!) at least once a day. So should you! It’s what keeps your mouth healthy in December and all year long. Make sure to use a toothpaste recommended by your dentist.
- Stock your stockings well – Christmas stockings are often crammed full of sugary treats that can cause cavities. Consider eliminating candy altogether or stick to one sweet item. Also consider giving a cool new toothbrush as part of the holiday loot.
- Take more turkey. One holiday food that’s great for teeth is turkey. It’s a great source of phosphorus and protein – both of which can help your body fight tooth decay and keep your teeth strong and healthy.
- Watch the sweets and chocolates. Most of us eat far too many sweets, chocolates and generally unhealthy food and drinks during the holiday season. This increase in the quantity of sugar consumed creates more acids and bacteria that can attack our teeth and gums which can be a beginning for a number of dental issues such as tooth decay, toothache, gum disease, bad breath, and tooth loss.
- Don’t use your teeth for anything chewing and smiling. Too many people use their teeth not only to chew their food, but also to open packages, tear tape, cut ribbon, and perform multiple tasks that teeth aren’t designed for. This holiday season, use your teeth only for what they’re meant for – chewing and smiling. Anything else will put your oral health at risk.
- Make the holiday meaningful.We often structure our holiday events around food, but this is not beneficial to your teeth or your waistline. To take the focus off of food, set up activities like board and card games, craft projects, or holiday movie marathons.
- Visit My Local Dentists Northmead! Dental cleanings are vital for your oral health. They keep your smile shining, nourish and strengthen your teeth, and prevent dental issues, like tooth decay, gum disease and teeth loss. The Christmas holiday can be very damaging to dental health, so it’s important you give your teeth and gums the best chance of survival sticking to your regular dental checkups and professional clean and scale.
- Set Time Limits. It’s tempting to graze all day during the Christmas season, and food is all around us, but this puts our teeth at increased risk of decay. Instead of leaving food out for hours, set up specific times of the day to eat. These can be sit-down meals or buffet style, what’s important is that there is a definite beginning and ending to meal times. This will help keep everyone from constantly reaching for food that’s high in sugar and fat.
Dental Care at My Local Dentists Northmead
My Local Dentists Northmead is your trusted Northmead dentist in Greater Western Sydney. Your oral health and the appearance of your smile are important to us. Our highly trained staff can treat any dental issue, including complicated issues related to other health conditions.
Our commitment to our patients is dental health and an attractive smile for the holidays and a lifetime!
We like to make life a little bit easier for our patients by offering longer hours on weekdays and weekend appointments.
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Gap-Free Check Up And Clean
We offer all patients gap-free check ups, cleans and all preventative treatments if you are in a private health fund ($180 for patients not in a private health fund).
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Call us on (02) 9630 9996 or book your appointment online.