With Chinese New Year just around the corner, everyone is looking forward to indulging in delicious festive snacks and traditional dishes during house visits and over the annual reunion dinners.
We know how tough it is to resist the festive feasting so we put together a few tips on how you can indulge while keeping your teeth healthy!
1. Sugary foods and soft drinks
Commonly served during Chinese New Year, sugary items leave our teeth at risk to the bacteria in our mouth. These bacteria feeds on sugars, creating acids that attack our tooth enamel. Excessive consumption can result in enamel erosion and tooth decay.
What to do:
Opt for healthier options with lower sugar content where possible, like dark chocolate instead of milk chocolate. Avoid sucking on candy for sipping on soda for extended periods of time as our teeth ends up exposed to the sugars for a longer duration.
2. Hard and tough foods
Biting down on hard foods may cause dental fillings to fall out. It can also weaken tooth enamel in the long run, resulting in tooth pains and possible cracks. Cracking nuts and melon seeds open using our teeth can sometimes chip or fracture our front teeth, and dislodge fillings.
Food that is tougher in consistency requires a lot of chewing, placing more strain on the jaw muscles. Over chewing may cause jaw aches and pain. Patients with ill-fitting dentures may experience pain or discomfort in the gums as the dentures shift around when chewing on tougher foods.
What to do:
Be extra cautious when biting down on hard snacks. Use your hands or other tools, instead of your teeth, to crack open any nuts with shells.
3. Sticky Foods
While saliva is meant to break down the foods trapped in our teeth, sticky foods are harder to break down and will take more time, ultimately contributing to tooth decay.
What to do:
Rinse your mouth with water after eating these tarts and cakes, and make sure you brush your teeth at the end of the day! Flossing is just as important to remove any leftover food between your teeth.
4. Alcohol
Whether you’re entertaining for the holidays or just want to hoist a glass in celebration, some of us enjoy a few alcoholic drinks during the festive season.
Take note though that alcohol dehydrates the body, thus reducing the saliva flow for people who drink excessively. Saliva is important in fighting bacteria in our mouth, and less saliva production will give rise to oral problems like tooth decay and gum disease.
Red wine, especially, can also stain our pearly whites.
What to do:
Consume alcoholic drinks during meals to encourage saliva production. Drinking water in between will also help to clean your teeth. To prevent stains, brush well after a good red wine!
With these tips in mind, T32 Dental wishes you a prosperous new year ahead!
If you have any questions, send us an online enquiry or call us at one of our branches.