‘Tis the season to be jolly, and for many of us that means letting go of all our food (and drink) hang-ups and gorging on mince pies, mulled wine, chocolate and all manner of sweet and savoury treats.

While it’s nice to give yourself a break every now and again, it’s important to remember that your teeth don’t know it’s Christmas and they aren’t going to take care of themselves just because it’s the festive season. Here are some tips from the team here at Bristol dental practice CK Dental to keep your teeth healthy this yuletide:

If you’re going to snack, think savoury

Every household has a bowl of nuts on the coffee table at Christmas – why not reach for that instead of the chocolate box next time you feel the need to feed those cravings? Nuts are good for you in many ways – crammed full of essential nutrients and although (like almost all plant-based foods) they do contain some natural sugars, compared to chocolates and sweets their sugar content is so minimal as to be almost negligible.

Drink water

OK, so it’s probably unreasonable to expect that you’re going to steer clear of the mulled wine all together this Christmas, but think about interspersing your alcoholic or sweetened beverages with a few glasses of water – not only will this keep the festive hangover at bay, but it will also help to wash some of the sugar off your teeth, making those sweet treats just a little less heinous for your dental health.

Keep brushing

Christmas may be an opportunity to take a break from some of the more mundane tasks of daily life, but tooth brushing is not one of them! In fact, you may wish to think about brushing more frequently over the holiday season; especially if you plan on indulging your sweet tooth.

Here at CK Dental practice in Bristol our lead dentist, Cornelius Krause, recommends brushing after every meal if you can – try to leave it at least half an hour between eating and toothbrushing though, as if you brush too soon the enamel on your teeth may still be softened and you risk doing damage.

If you have any concerns, please do give us a call on 0117 906 4872 to book a post-Christmas check-up.

For now though, all the team here at CK Dental practice in Bristol wishes you a very happy Christmas.