Avoiding Festive Acid Attacks
When visiting the dentist, they often recommend having three main meals and two snacks a day. We also advise limiting the sweet treats to mealtimes only and avoid snacking on the sugary stuff in-between meals.
This is because when we eat it causes an “acid attack” within your mouth, creating the perfect environment for dental decay, which then causes bacteria to thrive. So, it isn’t necessarily what you eat or drink, it’s also how often. It takes your mouth between 40-60 minutes to reach a neutral acidity level. If the acidity level is constantly low and is never allowed to “remineralise” your enamel can become soft and the bacteria in your mouth create holes known as decay in your teeth.
With Christmas fast approaching, Quality Streets, chocolate coins, candy canes and cosying up by the fire with a hot chocolate are just some of the ways we enjoy the Christmas season so avoiding tempting treats can be challenging, but eating neutralising foods, such as cheese and crackers is an option to help aid with remineralising your enamel. While we aren’t encouraging anyone to overindulge, if you are, open that cheese board, and sample the brie and wensleydale, or perhaps a blue cheese if you’re brave, and have yourself a merry little Christmas!
But as we enjoy these goodies, remember too many sweet treats can increase your risk of tooth decay. And, while visiting the dentist is low down on the priorities over Christmas, be sure to get yourself booked in for a regular check-up and hygiene visit in the run up to, or early into the New Year.
“Way up high on the Christmas tree,
Two little candy canes, winked at me,
So I shook that tree as hard as I could,
And down came the candy canes
Yum, yum; good!”
