Five top teeth tips for Easter

 

Easter is a great occasion to relax, catch up with loved ones and enjoy festive food and treats.  Chocolate, hot cross buns, sweets and cakes all make a special appearance over the Easter long weekend. However, four days of being a little more relaxed with our eating and snacking can affect our oral health if we’re not careful.

A small serve of chocolate contains a high concentration of sugar. Sugar is often combined with fat in treat foods and it’s this partnership that makes food taste so good, causing cravings and weight gain.  The frequency and regularity of eating and snacking can also cause negative effects to tooth health. Eating sugary foods over a long period of time is particularly risky because of the duration of time tooth enamel is exposed to acid attacks.

Five tips to keep your teeth healthy over Easter.

1. Enjoy your sweet treats with meals- not in between- and in moderation. This will help to reduce the frequency of acid attacks on your tooth enamel and boost protective saliva flow.
2. Aim to limit your sugar intake in the weeks before and after Easter. Eat mindfully to offset the sugar peak Easter often brings.
3. Plan activities that aren’t all about food; gifts like pyjamas can also be a great Easter-themed alternative. If you have children, get them involved in creative Easter craft fun and replace chocolate or sugar eggs with wooden or Papier-Mache ones.
4. Try to restrict the amount of sugar coming into your home over the Easter break. It can be very hard to fight off temptation once our focus lands on those shimmery, shiny egg wrappers.
5. Keep up everyday habits of tooth brushing at least twice each day with fluoride toothpaste and flossing daily. Take a little extra time with bedtime brushing – the risk of decay increases when sleeping and saliva flow slows down.

 

 

Key messages

Moderation over the Easter break will not affect enjoyment of this special time and will not negatively affect your oral health. Make an appointment for a dental check up for yourself and your family.

References

https://www.ada.org.au/getattachment/News-Media/News-and-Release/Latest-News/Smart-Eating-Week/DHW19_UnderstandingSugar_factsheet.pdf.aspx?lang=en-AU

https://www.ada.org.au/News-Media/News-and-Release/Latest-News/Parents-urged-to-spare-their-kids%E2%80%99-teeth-from-suga

https://www.ada.org.au/News-Media/News-and-Release/Media-Releases/Don%E2%80%99t-be-a-bunny-this-Easter-%E2%80%93-Look-after-your-kid

https://www.colgate.com.au/oral-health/nutrition-and-oral-health/nutrition