Protect teeth from holiday sweets
What can you do to protect your teeth from sugar when you succumb to sweet temptation?
We all know that sugar is bad for your teeth, but it can be hard to resist, especially at certain times of the year when sweet treats are everywhere: at parties, as gifts, even as decorations!
Protect teeth from hidden sugars
As well as the obvious sugars in desserts, candy, cookies and cakes, there are also sugars lurking in:
- fruit: fresh, dried and juiced
- alcohol which is basically fermented sugars
- processed foods
- savory foods (eg salad dressing, sauce, bread)
- breakfast cereals and snack bars
Sugar is hard to avoid, even when you are trying. Most people have a sweet tooth to some degree, and some of us are definitely addicts!
I gave up eating sugar a few years ago, but I had already healed my chronic tooth decay by then, so it is possible to eat sugar and take good care of your teeth.
In fact, the teeth healing diet that cured my cavities actually made it easier to (eventually) become sugar free!
Six tips to protect teeth from sugar damage
1. Try to limit sugary foods and drinks to mealtimes, not inbetween.
2. If you are going to snack on sweets, eat some healthy fats at the same time (eg cream, yoghurt or coconut oil).
3. If you are going to eat lollies, chocolate (preferably dark) is less harmful than candy canes or chewy toffees.
4, Avoid snacking or sucking on sweets over an extended period of time. The less time your teeth spend bathed in sugar, the better.
5. Rinse your mouth with water straight after eating anything sweet.
6. Wait 30-60 minutes before brushing your teeth, because tooth enamel is soft and vulnerable to scratching for up to an hour after you eat.
Hello! I'm Meliors Simms, the Holistic Tooth Fairy.
As a natural oral health coach I have worked with hundreds of clients worldwide to avoid unnecessary dental procedures and have better experiences with the necessary ones. (Find out about my coaching services here).
After a diverse career (from research to counselling to arts) and a lifetime of terrible teeth, I stumbled on an Alt Oral approach which prevented what would have been my 7th root canal.
That inspired years of independent research and experimentation, eventually resulting in my uniquely holistic approach to oral health.
My new book The Secret Lives of Teeth is a comprehensive guide to healing teeth and gums with metaphysical perspective. Read a sample here for free.
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