Christmas is just around the corner and from now until the Kings pass, will be a continuum of dinners, reunions and celebrations.
Beyond the couple of extra kilos with which we usually release the New Year, our teeth can also suffer the excesses of the typical binges this time. Therefore, it is important to pay extra attention to oral care.
To begin, it is important to know that the typical sweets of these parties (because they are high in sugar) can lead to tooth decay and also increased tooth sensitivity and enamel damage. In our post about foods that stain teeth or damage you can find more information on this topic.
However, Jorge Ferrús, implantologist and periodontist clinical Ferrus & Bratos stresses that Christmas is not as noticeable increased caries, but increased dental visits for accidents caused by problems with braces or teeth when eating Food very hard.
So you know, enjoy the nougat and the seafood, but with care. Your teeth can suffer, especially if you use orthodontics or implants. Personally, with hard foods try not to use incisors, because I have a tendency to break easily my problem bruxism. I do not know if it is a very good advice, but it works for me.
“The carbonated beverages, which cause tooth decay, and spirit , which hurts the gums and tongue, must also moderated this holiday season. And, of course, tobacco, which irreversibly affects the color of the teeth, “says Dr. Ferrús.
For the days of celebrations of noon outside of house, it is advisable to carry in the bag a small kit with the brush and the toothpaste. But if you forget, you can always turn to the sugarless gum. “Although chewing gum after eating is not equivalent to brushing teeth, it is true that it has a protective effect on these, since it neutralizes the acids in the mouth,” clarifies the dentist.
Likewise, the specialist recommends, in these days of excess, to rinse the mouth just after finishing eating to eliminate, albeit superficially, the remains of food. “Ideally, brush your teeth after every meal, as in our daily life, but this is another alternative to get by, for example, the day’s lunch business or if you’ve left the brush at home,” adds.
Remember a good hygiene of teeth and mouth is very important not only for their own oral health, but also for overall health. The explanation is that the link between good oral health (and, in particular, the gums) and global health is becoming more evident and closer.
The latest studies in this regard leave no doubt: if you have a diseased gum, the problem is not limited to the mouth. This poor periodontal health can lead to poor glycemic control in people with diabetes, can advance delivery in pregnancy, increase the risk of respiratory disease or exacerbation of some of them or even could be associated with other factors of cardiovascular risk and increase the chances of suffering a myocardial or cerebral infarction or other cardiovascular event.
The issue is that periodontal diseases are most common. It is estimated that 8 out of 10 people aged 35 or older suffer from some form of gum disease, and the prevalence and severity of these problems increase with age and the accumulation of other risk factors (such as smoking, Obesity or alcohol abuse).
