Easter time can be a tricky time to keep your teeth clean – kids and adults alike! Here are a few tips on how to look after your own teeth and your kids teeth this Easter.
- Take extra care brushing and flossing – It’s easy to neglect to brush and floss properly when you’re excited and staying up late over Easter weekend. Try to reward your kids’ brushing with treats the next day (in moderation obviously).
- Limit chocolate to treat times – As mentioned above it can be a good idea to restrict chocolate to certain times of the day. Try to avoid letting your kids eat chocolate just before bed, as when they brush their teeth before bed and shortly after consuming chocolate, the sugar in the chocolate and the acidity of the toothpaste can corrode teeth and leave the way open for cavities.
- It’s likely that for many, Easter will be a bit of a drinking weekend ….! – With this in mind, it’s important to protect your tooth enamel fro the high sugar content in alcohol as well as from the pigments (tannins) in red wine. Imagine the lasting stains red wine leaves on clothing – now picture this on your teeth – it has the same impact.
- Plan a hygienist appointment for you and your kids after the Easter period – Hygienist appointments differ from dental check-ups, involving different things. One such example is what is known as a ‘scale and polish’ which is a deep clean of your teeth to remove plaque and tartar that cannot be removed from brushing and flossing alone.
- Floss floss floss! It is recommended that you floss once a day to remove food particles. This is even more essential over a period such as Easter (or Christmas) when you are likely to be indulging. Flossing will remove tenacious bits of food that sticks between your teeth.
If you would like more information about Hygienist services at Cliftonville, please do not hesitate to contact us.