The Christmas holidays are known for being the season of food. The Christmas turkey with all the trimmings, a chocolate everyday with your advent calendar and the constant snacking after filling your cupboards with Christmas themed goods.
Therefore, it is crucial to be aware of what you are eating and how much time you are putting into your brace care and oral health routine each and every day. Without the appropriate care, your braces can become damaged, providing less effective results at the end of your treatment time.
To help you we have provided a few tips to beat Christmas temptations and protect your oral health this season:
Post Party Routine
With party season on its way we understand how after a long night out, filled with drinking and dancing until your feet hurt, you might be tempted to head straight for your pillow.
However, it is so important for you to get into a routine of still brushing your teeth for at least two minutes, twice a day. This will prevent food and alcohol remains lingering in your braces overnight and lessen your risk of bad breath and tooth decay.
Never Too Busy to Floss
The countdown to Christmas and New Year is always a busy period, with gifts to buy, parties to plan and family to visit. Nevertheless, your daily oral health routine should not suffer as a result of this.
Continue to brush with fluoride toothpaste, followed by flossing and rinsing with mouthwash. But as well as flossing between your braces, don’t forget to floss under the wires too. If it helps, play your favourite Christmas soundtrack to make the task more uplifting.
Being Prepared
Your Christmas calendar is most likely to be filled with invites, so you may find yourself eating out more than usual. To avoid dental disasters, carry floss and a small, travel toothbrush incase any trimmings from your Christmas meals get caught inbetween your braces.
Fight the Temptation
It can be hard around the festive period to resist those sugary snacks when it is all you are surrounded by! You can still stay in the Christmas spirit by snacking on cheeses but try to limit how much you indulge on chocolate and cake.
Too much sugar can contribute to the effects of tooth decay. Tooth decay develops from mouth bacteria, often stemming from the sugar in foods and beverages, which will eventually start to damage your teeth. Also try not to forget to avoid chewy, sticky and hard foods that could potentially cause damage to your braces.
Practical Gifts
It’s always fun to receive presents that you can enjoy for leisure, but it is also meaningful to receive practical gifts too. Your toothbrush should be replaced every 3-4 months and perhaps this is your chance to choose an advanced toothbrush for more efficient cleaning. You never know, it could turn out to be the gift you are most thankful for this year.
Book Your Appointment Today
It may sound disappointing at first, however, once you implement a consistent oral health routine and surround yourself with snacks that you know are safe for both your braces and teeth, it will become easy.
To book your pre-Christmas orthodontic check up appointment, contact a member of our team today on 020 8646 6200.