The holidays are a special time of year when we allow ourselves to indulge a little more than usual. Unfortunately, this can sometimes have negative side-effects—especially for your teeth. To keep your smile as merry and bright as the season and avoid an extra trip to the dentist, pay attention to the following tips.

How to Maintain Your Dental Health During the Holidays

1. Avoid Sticky Treats & Hard Candies

Sugary treats and snacks can wreak havoc on your dental health by feeding acid-producing bacteria that eat away at your tooth enamel and cause cavities. While it’s best to avoid ultra-sweet foods altogether, some of them are more damaging than others.

Sticky sweets and hard candies tend to stay in your mouth longer and get stuck in-between your teeth, giving tooth decay-causing bacteria more time to cause damage. When you do give in to a craving, try to indulge alongside a full meal; the lunch or dinner will stimulate more saliva production to help wash away dessert residue.

2. Watch What You Drink

Many adult holiday beverages are packed with tooth decay-causing sugar. Others, like wine, are filled with acids that can wear away at your tooth enamel. Excessive alcohol intake can also dry out your mouth, making conditions prime for damaging bacteria. When you do indulge in an alcoholic beverage, dentists recommend drinking a glass of water at the same time to rinse the excess off your teeth.

3. Protect Your Teeth From Cracks & Breaks

Chewing hard candies, ice cubes, nuts, and other hard foods you may encounter during the holidays can lead to painful cracks, chips, and breaks in your teeth. Let your hard candy and ice cubes dissolve naturally rather than chewing on them and use a nutcracker to open nuts. You should also avoid using your teeth to open tough packaging on Christmas morning.

Get more essential holiday dental care tips, as well as oral treatments, by visiting Gregory E. Utecht, D.D.S. in Lincoln, NE. This dentist is widely known in the Lancaster County area for his expertise in several areas of dentistry, including family, general, and cosmetic procedures. After the holidays are over, schedule your routine cleaning for a brighter smile going into the new year. Call (402) 477-3456 to make an appointment or learn more about the practice’s capabilities online.