Look Your Best This Holiday: 5 Tips to Protect Your Smile!
The holidays are here and it’s time to show the world your beautiful smile! Keeping your smile healthy and protected this holiday season is crucial when you’ve got so much going on. Maintaining your oral hygiene habits doesn’t have to be difficult in the face of the holiday frenzy. You can enjoy your time with family and friends while still looking your best this holiday season.
Here are five essential tips to protect your smile and emerge from the holidays looking brighter and younger than ever with your beautiful teeth!
- Prevent Staining from Coffee and Wine
Wine is undoubtedly a popular beverage during the holidays, but if you’re sipping on red wine, you could be staining your teeth! The same goes for coffee. The longer your exposure time to the beverage, the greater the chances of staining your pearly whites are.
To help reduce the chances of staining your teeth, there a few things you can do. The first is to always sip water while consuming either wine or coffee over an extended period of time. The water will help prevent staining and also help keep your mouth hydrated.
The second is to eat food while drinking these beverages. Again, having a buffer helps prevent staining from occurring in your porous enamel. Eating a meal while drinking a glass of wine is generally a safe and healthy way to prevent staining from red wine.
You can also avoid staining by reducing the time your mouth is exposed to the beverage. For example, sipping coffee for hours every morning greatly increases your chances of enamel staining. Alternatively, sipping wine for several hours has the same staining risk. Avoid sipping these beverages for long periods of time!
2. Prepare for Travel
If you plan on traveling this holiday season, be prepared for a change in your routine. Keeping a travel toothbrush in your bag in case you forget yours at home can be very helpful. Floss is easily transported, so keep an extra one in your travel bag. Flossing once a day might feel like a chore, but keeping the spaces in-between your teeth clean can help prevent bad oral bacteria and cavities!
Sticking to a routine as much as possible along with your extra care items can help you to maintain excellent oral health even while away from home for the holidays. If you’re without a toothbrush, rinsing with mouthwash or brushing with your finger can work in a pinch, but never rely on this method consistently for brushing. Never borrow a friend or family member’s toothbrush, as sharing oral bacteria can be detrimental to your oral health!
3. Be Mindful about Sweets
It’s the time of year when it seems like sweets are showing up everywhere! From family gatherings to your child’s school Christmas play, it seems like cookies and punch just don’t quit during the holidays.
Indulging in sweets is fine, but there are a few practices you can do to ensure that that acidic sugar doesn’t ruin your beautiful smile!
The first is to rinse your mouth with water after consuming sugar, if possible. This will help prevent the sugar from turning your oral bacteria acidic and eating away at your tooth enamel.
It might feel like brushing your teeth is the right thing to do after eating sweets, but the opposite is true: due to the sugar’s damaging effect on your enamel, it’s best to wait 30 minutes before brushing your teeth. Bushing immediately afterwards could increase your risk for enamel erosion!
It’s also crucial to eat well during the holidays. Consuming sweets in excess and neglecting to nourish your body with whole foods this holiday doesn’t only increase your chances for weight gain, but it also takes a toll on your oral health! Balancing sugar consumption by eating healthy meals can make all the difference for your smile.
- Get a Consultation for Restorative Dental Work
Have you been putting off dental work to restore your smile? Now’s the time to schedule an appointment with your dentist in Asheville. Whether you need full or partial dentures, dental implants, teeth whitening, or just a checkup, there’s never a better time to look your best for family and friends (and for yourself) this holiday.
Your Asheville dentist can help you determine if financing is an option for your restorative dental work or if your insurance will cover some of the cost. Getting the smile of your dreams is more than just about your appearance having a fully functioning smile can enable you to eat the foods you love and have the confidence to smile and speak.
Scheduling a consultation for restorative or cosmetic dentistry options can change your life. Your Asheville dental practice can help you decide what treatment options are right for you to fully restore your smile for the holidays!
- Beware of Teeth Grinding
The holidays are often a stressful time for many people, and patients often don’t realize that teeth grinding can be a symptom of stress.
Otherwise known as bruxism, teeth grinding can be incredibly damaging to your smile. It causes immense pressure on your teeth (up to 10 times the pressure exerted when chewing food) and can lead to cracked or chipped teeth in addition to gum inflammation. Grinding your teeth could even put you at risk for tooth loss!
Symptoms of teeth grinding could include jaw pain, tooth sensitivity, even headaches and painful teeth. Your Asheville dentist can examine your mouth for physical signs of teeth grinding and advise a recommended treatment. Often just reducing stress in your life can help!
This holiday season, you can look your best and smile your biggest by taking care of your smile. Reduce teeth staining simply by eating while drinking or rinsing with water and choose sweets carefully. Be prepared for hectic travel season by keeping a spare toothbrush and floss in your travel bag. Schedule a consultation for restorative dental work to get the smile of your dreams and remember, teeth grinding is extremely damaging to your smile!
Happy Holidays!