It’s that time of year when visions of dessert, sugar cookies and candy canes are likely dancing around in the heads of your children. Despite their consumption of sugar, there are still many ways to minimize damage to their oral health and keep your kids in a healthy routine. Here are our tips to keeping your family’s teeth healthy over the holidays.
Make Brushing Teeth Fun
With all of the joy and excitement of the holidays, it can be difficult to get the kids excited about brushing their teeth. However, we see the holidays as an opportunity to make brushing teeth especially fun. Perhaps you can buy your kids a holiday-themed toothbrush or colored floss and sing a Christmas song for the duration of their brushing. There’s no reason the holiday cheer has to stop when it comes to brushing and it’s important to maintain a healthy routine all year round. As Eugene’s family dentist, we love coming up with ideas to make oral health care fun for the kids!
Limit Sugary Foods and Drinks
A lot of times, the biggest risk of the holiday season is all of the access to desserts, candy, sugary snacks, and sparkling grape juice. Hard candy can especially wreak havoc on your child’s teeth because not only are they loaded with sugar but can cause a dental emergency like a chipped or cracked tooth. We recommend setting limits on sugary foods and drinks with your kids beforehand, so they understand why they can’t have unlimited pie or soda. Also, encourage them to rinse with water after eating sugary foods as it helps rinse away sugar, acids and other food stuck in their teeth.
Don’t Open Packages or Bottles with Teeth
On Christmas morning we know how excited the little ones can be to rip open that brand new toy they’ve been waiting for, but your teeth are not the right tools for the task. Using your teeth to grip and tear packages can cause your teeth to crack or damage previous dental work. So, when it comes to the big day, make sure there is a pair of scissors handy to do the packaging opening.
Schedule a Eugene Dentist Visit
The holidays are a busy time of year, and it can be easy to forget about a dentist appointment or routine dental check-up. Your child probably has some time off of school for the holidays, so now is a great time to schedule a dental cleaning and exam. If you’re looking for a family dentist in Eugene, you’ve found the right place! At Dr. Molly and Dr. Carly DMD we use state-of-the-art technology to provide you and your family with the most efficient and top quality dental care. Not to mention, our energetic, knowledgeable, and friendly staff will make you feel welcome and put the little ones at ease. For more oral health care tips, keep checking back for regular blog posts or follow our social media outlets!
Happy holidays from our family to yours!
Image source: Ernst Vikne | CC 2.0