Holiday Sweets are Not Good for Your Teeth!

Holiday Sweets are Not Good for Your Teeth!

By Mina Levi, DDS, 11/26/2014

As the winter holidays approach and with Thanksgiving just around the corner, we know that sweets like pumpkin pie and candy canes are a given. As much as these treats are great on the lips, they aren't so great on the teeth! In this article, Dentist San Francisco Mina Levi, DDS goes over some Holiday oral care tips about the sweet foods we love.

 

How do sweet foods and drinks cause cavities?

 

When you eat sugary foods or drinks, naturally occurring bacteria in the mouth feed on the sugar and create acids as a by-product. These acids then wear down the tooth enamel, making it weaker and more susceptible to tooth decay as well as a host of other problems, including gingivitis. Snacking on sweets throughout the day or during an extended period of time (such as at a holiday party) is especially harmful, since damaging acids form in the mouth every time you eat a sugary snack and continue to affect the teeth for at least 20 minutes afterwards.

 

Tips for Holiday oral care:

 

1. Eating sugary or carbohydrate-rich foods as part of a balanced meal is better than eating them alone. The body produces more saliva to help digest larger meals, which washes away more food and helps neutralize harmful acids before they can attack teeth.

2. Foods that take a long time to chew can damage teeth. That's because sticky foods, including nutritious choices like raisins, dates and dried fruit, hold acid against teeth longer than do other foods. Try to limit your consumption of these foods.

3. After consuming high-acid food (fruits) or drinks (wine), rinse with water before brushing your teeth to prevent tooth erosion from the acids.

4. Keep a toothbrush and travel-size toothpaste handy (for example, in your pocket or purse or store these in the glove compartment of your car) so that you can brush right after eating at holiday parties.

5. An added benefit is that you are less likely to eat after you brush your teeth, so you may end up eating less at parties.

6. If you're unable to brush your teeth after eating, rinsing your mouth thoroughly with water or chewing sugar-free gum will help to wash away food particles, produce more saliva and neutralize acids in your mouth

If you have any questions or concerns regarding the effect that sweets have on your teeth during the Holiday season, visit Mina Levi, DDS on the web at www.minalevidds.com or give us a call at (415) 513-5066.

Topics: San Francisco Dentist, holiday sweets, holidays, Thanksgiving, winter, sweets, candy, candy effect, candy effect on your teeth, snacking, holiday snacking, treats, holiday treats, cavities

Source: Delta Dental Ins

How to Keep Teeth White Through the Holidays

How to Keep Your Teeth White Through the Holidays

By Mina Levi DDS, 12/24/2013

A concern of many is to keep their teeth pearly white, but not many people have the time to follow through with whitening treatments during the busy holiday season. This leaves people with questions like, what foods are going to stain my teeth? and are there foods that help keep stains away?  Below, we discuss tips on how to keep teeth at their whitest through the holidays.

What foods should I avoid?

There are many foods and drinks that are served during the holidays that can actually stain teeth and dull them. A few foods and drinks to avoid are:

1. Coffee. Coffee is a dark liquid that is very powerful, and can leave stained teeth after having only a few sips. If coffee is unavoidable, try to swish water or mouth rinse immediately after drinking it to best avoid staining.

2. Red Wine. Red wine, or any other colored fruit drink for that matter, is a staining agent as well. If you are worried about stains when you spill it on your shirt, you should be worried about what it is doing to your teeth. Try white wine as a replacement.

3. Cranberry Sauce. As a darker fruit product, cranberry sauce will stain like red wine does. Avoid cranberry sauce if you can.

4. Dark Chocolate. Chocolate is less powerful than coffee or red wine, but still has the capability of stainingteeth. Swish water in your mouth after eating dark chocolate treats, or try to substitute white chocolate instead.

5. Tomato Sauce. Tomato sauce can stain your teeth due to the deep red color and also due to the acidity in the tomatoes. If you eat basic foods like lettuce beforehand, it may form a thin protective layer on teeth. Overall, though, try to avoid tomato sauce if possible.

Are there foods that help with whitening?

Just as there are foods that make teeth duller, there are foods that can help keep your teeth white while you eat them! A few foods and drinks to indulge in during the holidays are:

1. Vegetables High in Fiber. Veggies that have high fiber content like broccoli or spinach can clean your teeth while you eat. They also increase saliva production and lower acidity in the mouth.

2. Water. Water is good for you for unlimited numbers of reasons, and it is also good for keeping your teeth white, especially if it has added fluoride elements that fight oral bacteria.

3. Nuts.  Nuts are abrasive when you bite into them, which help clean plaque off of teeth. Nuts also increase saliva production much like fibrous veggies which lowers acidity and fights bacteria in the mouth.

4. Strawberries and Pineapple. Strawberries and pineapple act like astringents that reverse staining and have vitamin C. Strawberries are good to eat with dark chocolate to help keep stains caused by the chocolate at bay.

If you have any concerns about teeth whitening, or professional teeth whitening procedures, give the Dentist San Francisco Mina Levi DDS a call at (415) 513-5066 or visit us on the web at www.minalevidds.com . Have a happy holiday season!

Topics: Holidays, Teeth Whitening, Stains, Staining Foods, Oral Bacteria, Saliva, Plaque, Dentist San Francisco