For many people now, the holidays are a time of escape from life’s worries. They let you focus on festive fun and cheer instead of work, chores, and other responsibilities. Even so, you should still consider what you eat this season; some holiday meals can harm your smile. You’ll want to avoid (or limit) certain seasonal fare to protect your grin from problems. As for the specifics, keep reading to learn four popular holiday foods that hurt teeth.
Dried Fruits
While dried fruits are great holiday appetizers, you mustn’t overindulge in them. They can put your smile at great risk after a while.
Along with vitamins, dried fruits are packed with sugar. This carb causes cavities by attracting harmful bacteria, which produce acids that erode teeth. It also sticks to enamel longer when present in dried fruit, resulting in even worse tooth decay. Given such effects, you should try to steer clear of any raisins, prunes, figs, apricots, and peaches.
Pecan Pie
You should also be careful of pecan pie over the coming days. If you aren’t, this holiday dessert just might ruin your pearly whites.
Pecan pie is one of the worst holiday foods for your teeth. Even as it’s loaded with sugar, the dish contains corn syrup that makes its texture very sticky. Pecan pie thus clings to teeth hours after you eat it, further attracting tooth-decaying bacteria. The pie’s pecans can also be hard enough to weaken or fracture enamel as you chew them.
Candy Canes
Candy canes show up everywhere in December, but please limit how many you eat. You’ll end up with a weak and achy grin otherwise.
Modern candy canes are practically pure and hard sugar. As such, sucking on them bathes teeth in materials that cause major tooth decay. Chewing them can also cause a tooth or two to crack, or at least lead to some enamel erosion. Either effect would put a serious damper on your smile, potentially ruining your holiday fun.
Eggnog
You may believe you can’t celebrate the holidays without eggnog. However, this seasonal mainstay isn’t something to guzzle; it’s harmful to oral health.
Eggnog’s sugar content is rather high, all things considered. Just one serving has 20 grams – nearly the daily amount recommended by the American Heart Association! That being the case, you’d do well to take it easy on the ‘nog. Going overboard will just lead to a mouthful of cavities in January.
As you can see, there are many popular holiday foods that can hurt teeth. Note the ones above (and other examples) to keep your smile safe through winter.
About the Practice
Dr. Rosenbaum & Associates is based in Modesto, CA. Led by Dr. Robert Rosenbaum himself, our practice has been helping patients smile for over 40 years. We’ve always offered quality dental care from the start, including preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments. Our team also has the resources and skills to treat a wide range of dental emergencies. For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (209)-526-9132.