Christmas is a time for family, but also tearing open your advent calendar, chowing down on mince pies and glugging drink. Although we are dental professionals, we are human and we understand that. We just want to give you some information and some ideas for the festive period so you stay on the ‘Esthetique Dental Nice List’.

Now, we are not expecting you give up on your advent calendar but there are some tips to enjoy your Christmas treats and maintain your dental hygiene.

The Main Christmas Culprit

Sugar is the main culprit. Bacteria found in plaque, use sugar as their food to grow and multiply, but they also create an acid which eats away your tooth, causing decay.

It’s not just the amount of sugar that counts. Some sugars are worse than others, the processed carbohydrate found in mince pies etc are worse. This is because as soon as you eat these sugars, they enter your mouth and are available to the bacteria. Whereas intrinsic sugars, which are naturally found in foods such as fruit and vegetables, need to be broken down before they become available to the bacteria in your mouth.

Another factor is how often you consume sugary food and drink. If you eat a total of 20g of sugar in six sittings this is a lot worse than if you eat a total of 20g of sugar in three sittings. So, if you want to tuck into your box of celebrations it’s better to demolish them all in one go rather than pick at them throughout the day.

What Can You Do?

You can try to compensate for the increased sugar over the Christmas period by cleaning your teeth effectively and using fluoride products which not only remove and kill the plaque bacteria but also remineralise your teeth.

– Brush your teeth twice a day, morning and last thing at night, with fluoride toothpaste. Spit out do not rinse with water.
– Clean in between your teeth with floss and/or interproximal brushes.
– Use a fluoride mouthwash at a different time to brushing your teeth to eliminate Brussel sprout breath and remineralise your teeth.

These strategies will help make sure that next Christmas you’re not asking for your two front teeth and you have a white (teeth) Christmas.

Merry Christmas from Esthetique Dental!