Watch Out for Holiday Sweets
We’re deep in the holiday season now, which is a time when most of us take the opportunity to indulge in candies and other sweets. Needless to say, this can be fairly tough on your teeth. Not all sweets are created equal, though, and some are worse for your oral health than others.
Candies that are easier on your teeth include anything that doesn’t linger on your teeth for too long. Chocolate and peanut butter cups, for example, are fairly easy for your saliva to flush away from your teeth shortly after you are finished eating.
It’s the hard and sticky candies that you need to look out for. Chewy caramels and candy canes get stuck in the tops of your molars, and can linger there for a long while as your oral bacteria feast upon their sugars. Anything that you suck upon for an extended period of time, like lollipops, pose a similar problem.
You can minimize the effects of the candy you eat by limiting your consumption to after meals. It is at this time that your saliva is already hard at work. Avoid snacking in small amounts throughout the day, and contact our Bellevue dentist to learn more.
