During the holidays, the last thing on your mind is preventing a dental emergency, but unfortunately, trauma doesn’t discriminate based on the season of the year. Thus, your emergency dentist in Brookfield says it never hurts to take steps to prevent dental trauma from happening. Read on to learn 5 helpful holiday tips!
Tip #1 – Think Twice About Eating Popcorn
During the holidays, you may choose to enjoy a movie with family members or friends who are in town visiting. That means you’re likely to be eating tubs of buttery popcorn while watching. Your emergency dentist says be careful, though, because while it may appear that you’re biting into a fluffy piece of popcorn, there could instead be an unpopped kernel lying in wait.
Although the enamel (the outer part of your teeth) is the hardest substance in your body, it is still vulnerable to being damaged. Thus, biting into the hard shell of a kernel could result in either a broken or cracked tooth, which is a definite dental emergency. The solution, then, is to remain mindful while eating.
Tip #2 – Avoid Sticky Foods
If you have braces or a recently placed crown or filling, then it’s best to avoid consumption of sticky foods like taffy or toffee. The reason is that these types of foods can cling to a fixture or restoration and cause it to dislodge, which can leave the tooth exposed to harmful bacteria.
Tip #3 – Limit Your Consumption of Sugar
If you have some existing oral health issues like cavities or gingivitis, then you should definitely set a sugar budget. That way you can limit the amount of acids that your teeth are bathed in throughout the day. Otherwise, you could bring about a toothache, which can be caused by the increased bacteria presence that is common when higher amounts of sugar are eaten.
Tip #4 – Practice Excellent Oral Hygiene
In addition to monitoring what you consume, it’s a must to brush and floss your teeth consistently during the holidays. It’s especially important during this time of the year because you’re more likely to eat processed and sugar-laden foods, which can become the antitheses of excellent oral health.
As a general rule of thumb, you should wait to brush and floss your teeth about an hour after eating so that you don’t damage your enamel.
Tip #5 – Visit Your Dentist
With the more liberal approach to eating during the holidays, if you have an existing problem, it could be magnified and become an emergency situation. Thus, this is a great time to visit your dentist in Brookfield for preventive care to make sure you’re not in harm’s way.
By taking these proactive steps to protect your oral health over the holidays, you can enjoy the festivities of the season without having to suffer from an ill-timed dental emergency.
About the Author
A graduate of the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Dr. Eric Taibl has been providing expert care for nearly a decade. He takes pride in possessing excellent listening skills, which allows him to fully understand each patient’s needs. Dr. Taibl provides expert care that helps to prevent dental emergencies at Elmbrook Family Dental, and he can be reached for more information through his website.