Fizzy drinks

There are the obvious suspects such as soft drinks such as coke and lemonade, but it also includes fizzy beverages such as Champagne, Prosecco and Bucksfizz.

It isn’t just the sugar you have to worry about with these drinks but the acidity. Every time you sip on this drink, the PH level in your mouth alters for around 20 minutes.

If drinking these drinks is a must for you, then you can minimise damage by trying to drink them at mealtimes, snack on cheese, also sipping water and not drinking it too frequently. Of course, you need to ensure you are cleaning your teeth thoroughly twice a day too.

Tip: wait at least an hour after eating and drinking anything before cleaning your teeth. With the acidity level in your mouth, the teeth’s enamel is much weaker and toothbrushing at these times can cause damage.

Nuts

Nuts are a healthy snack for you to consume. The danger comes when you have some heavily restored teeth or fillings that are in a more vulnerable position. Usually soft nuts such as cashews are fine, but harder nuts such as Brazil nuts can be too much for your teeth to handle!

Sticky sweets

Sticky sweets are the worse! It’s common for us to have patients over the festive period that have succumbed to toffee! Toffee is one of the toughest things to eat on your teeth. If you have any fillings or dental work, then this should be avoided altogether.

Sticky sweets also stick to your teeth Obvious we know but what this means is it gets into every nook and cranny and hangs around for a more extended period of time — wreaking damage on your teeth.

Using your teeth as a tool

We all know that we shouldn’t use our teeth to open bottles, but it’s one worth remembering because it still seems to happen an awful lot!

There are also things such as cracking nuts, undoing tags we hear all manner of ways that teeth are used as a tool. Make sure you have everything you need this Christmas and maybe some extra or spares left around.

Grazing

Food is such a big part of Christmas and probably most us eat a considerable amount of food! But many people are unaware that it is the frequency of consuming sugary or acidic foods that causes the most damage. After you eat your PH level is altered from twenty minutes up to an hour. If you graze, this means that you are not leaving anytime for your mouth to recover.

You can minimise the damage by reducing how much of the day you spend eating and drinking and also choosing better snacks for your teeth. Snacking on cheese, vegetables and sipping water is a great way to keep your mouth in better shape.

Whatever you’re eating this Christmas remember to keep on top of your oral health routine especially before bed.