Easter Survival Tips From Abbey Road Dental
Find out how to keep your smile fresh, clean and healthy at Easter when temptation for naughty treats is high!
At Easter, we consume around 85 million Easter eggs annually. It’s a bit of a chocolate fest, isn’t it? Not to mention all the delicious desserts, buffets and other treats we eat for the overall celebration, which can span across an entire weekend. The mountain of eggs we get can also continue to last for weeks or even months after the event too.
Here at Abbey Road Dental, we know that an Easter celebration is something everybody needs because, there are enough challenges in the world to miss out on a reason to smile and make happy memories with loved ones. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t limit the impact on your teeth and gums just a touch, to help avoid tooth decay, gum disease and other issues with the overconsumption of sugary treats.
To help you, here are Abbey Road Dental’s top tips on protecting your smile at Easter:
Switch The Focus To Decorating!
One way to add a sense of occasion to Easter without focusing on the chocolate, is to focus on the decorating instead. There are so many cute Easter displays you can have fun making these days such as:
- Easter wreaths
- A hanging Easter table display
- Painted eggs
- Painted egg baskets
- Floral displays
- Ribbon & bunting
- Easter origami
- Easter art
- An Easter tree
It’s a great way to mark the occasion without the entire focus being on the chocolate eggs.
Make Easter Hunts About More Than Chocolate
Easter egg hunts are often fun trails where kids can find hidden chocolate eggs. However, there are ways to reduce the chocolate involved and still make it fun. Some people do a hunt with hollow eggs that contain clues and each clue leads to another clue, until a prize is found at the end. Some people use hollow eggs and put little toys inside them, or smaller foil wrapped eggs that are less substantial compared to a full sized Easter egg. If you are creative, the kids can have a wonderful time on their hunt without it being chocolate focused.
Maintain A Good Oral Hygiene Regime
One of the best things you can do to protect yourself against the impact of Easter on your oral health is to keep up with your oral health regime. Brushing for two minutes a day, twice a day along with flossing and keeping up with your appointments at Abbey Road Dental will go a long way to keep your teeth and gums in good condition. Good oral hygiene cannot erase the impact of an overall unhealthy diet and lifestyle. However, for a short period of celebration, it can help a lot to ensure your teeth and gums are strong and as healthy as possible until you get back to a better routine again.
Eat Chocolate With Meals
One great way to minimise the impact of chocolate at Easter on the teeth, is to avoid grazing on it all day. Instead, if you eat it with meals as a dessert it shortens the window of sugar exposure. This is a good tactic in the days following Easter where you may be tempted to keep grazing on what is in the cupboard.
Be Creative With Gifts
Easter eggs will feature in Easter gifts, of course, but there are lots of other options to make it not so chocolate focused. Games are a great idea as they provide family entertainment over Easter weekend. Arts and crafts that are Easter themed are another great idea that both mark the occasion, and provide entertainment for the kids too. Vouchers, books, trinkets and soft toys are other great alternatives to eggs that children will love to receive on the big day as an alternative to chocolate.
Be Smart With Drink Choices
Over Easter weekend for the adults, the drinks can flow. This can lead to an acid and sugar attack on the teeth, when they are already dealing with the impact of chocolate. What you can do to minimise this impact is have water every other drink. When it comes to alcoholic drinks, beer is perhaps the best choice for your teeth because it has low acidity, high water content.
Chase Chocolate With Water, Or Gum
When you consume chocolate, drink some water afterwards and chew some sugar free gum. This helps to rinse away the sugar and stimulates saliva which helps to move chocolate along.
Make Savvy Buffet Choices
The Easter buffet is something that features in many a home, as a fun alternative to a big dinner. It’s also a feature at many kids Easter parties so everybody can grab a bite as and when they feel hungry.
You may know to perhaps avoid sweets or other dessert items to save your teeth at the buffet, but did you know that a lot of starchy carbs are actually bad for your teeth? Crackers, white bread, breadsticks and pastry, which often feature at buffets, easily get stuck between the teeth which causes a long period of sugar exposure. So, it is worth limiting your starchy carbs if you can.
On balance, crudettes like carrot, cucumber and pepper sticks are great for your teeth because they help crunch away debris and other food stuck between your teeth, whilst giving you a vitamin and mineral boost at the same time.
Now You Can Take On Easter Like A Pro!
Abbey Road Dental knows that Easter is a fun occasion, and chocolate happens! However, with our tips above, hopefully you can have a wonderful time, whilst also protecting your teeth and gums at the same time.
If you would like more advice on dental hygiene, or to book your checkup appointment, please call our friendly NW8 team and we will be more than happy to help.