With the Christmas holiday period just a few weeks away, many of you will probably already have started shopping in preparation for it. There is a lot to buy at this time of the year; food, presents and perhaps even new clothes if you have a lot of social engagements to attend. It is a time that some people really enjoy and others much less so, but most of us do it so that we enjoy the festivities as much as we can.
For today’s blog then, we thought we would look at a few suggestions of what you can buy for a tooth friendly Christmas, both with suggestions for presents but also a few food items that you should, or shouldn’t, buy.
You have probably already bought the more expensive items and are now looking for stocking fillers or smaller presents for those not so close to you. This is a good area where tooth friendly gifts can be useful. They can vary in cost but we hope that you find some of these ideas from 103 Dental and Implant Practice useful.
Most people do now use an electric toothbrush, but quite a few people stick to their old manual ones. In some cases, these are also well worn and probably highly ineffective at cleaning the teeth well enough to avoid problems like decay or gum disease. If you know anyone still using a manual toothbrush, why not buy them an electric one to help them improve their oral health? It is now widely believed that electric brushes are more effective than manual ones. If buying for kids, there are plenty on the market with cartoon characters etc which can help them enjoy their teeth brushing routine.
We have probably all bought chocolates or similar for friends and relatives. It is often an easy option when buying for people we struggle to come up with something original for. The odd chocolate will not cause too much damage to our teeth if we look after them well, but we have all probably had christmases when we have received far more chocolate than we know what to do with.
Why not help to reduce this pile of chocolate boxes by giving sugar free treats instead? These are often available in health food shops, and increasingly supermarkets. They could include sugar free chocolates or biscuits etc. For cheese lovers, supermarkets often have cheese selection boxes with cheeses from around the world.
If you know someone who travels a lot, or even goes camping in the UK, a dental travel kit could be a nice and useful present. These vary in content but often contain things like a small manual (usually) toothbrush which can be useful if your electric one has nowhere to recharge, a small tube of toothpaste and floss. Some even include an emergency dental care kit which can be useful if you are somewhere remote until you can see a dentist for a more permanent repair. You could even make your own, choosing the items you think most suitable for them.
If you are looking for something a little more special than a stocking filler, why not treat those close to you to a teeth whitening enhancement at our Edinburgh dental clinic? Our customised whitening treatment allows you to have a comfortable experience of whitening your teeth at home. This follows an initial visit to the dentist to determine how white you want your teeth to be and to explain how to use your custom whitening kit. A new smile for the new year could be just the thing for someone who is proud of their appearance!
Let us move on to food shopping now. Many things we buy are fairly standard; turkey, christmas cake and pudding etc. We also buy chocolates and sweets to add to those that will be bought for us as presents so let us look at how we can decrease the sugar load of Christmas.
Both of these are likely to contain high amounts of sugar, but there are some available that will either be sugar free or have a lower content. Make a note too of the texture for puddings especially. These can sometimes be very sticky which means that the sugar stays on your teeth for much longer. Perhaps look for a lighter version, even if you do prefer a regular one that has lots of sugar in it. The less time sugar is attached to your teeth, the less damage will be done.
We mentioned cheese selections earlier, but cheese can be really helpful in keeping your teeth and gums healthy, so a good selection for people to eat is a really useful purchase.
After we eat a meal, and especially where a lot of sugar is involved, our mouths are often left with a very acidic environment. As we know, it is acids which damage the tooth enamel and can lead to decay or even root canal problems. By eating a small piece of cheese at the end of a meal, not only do we obtain important minerals that help build strong teeth, such as calcium, but we also help to neutralise the acidity in our mouth.
We all tend to graze more at Christmas and this isn’t good for our teeth as they don’t get a chance to remineralise. Eating main meals only is ideal but most of us won’t do that for the festive period. One thing that can help is to have a selection of crunchy vegetables available such as celery or carrots (crudités). These help to clean the teeth by removing food particles that have become stuck and are, of course, sugar free.
We hope that you find these suggestions useful and perhaps keep them in mind when you go shopping.
If you would like to see a dentist or the hygienist at the 103 Dental and Implant Practice, before or after Christmas, please do give us a call on 0131 608 3219.
