With the holidays fast approaching, you might be wondering how you can keep your teeth healthy and white without having to hide from pictures or give up the once a year Christmas candy. The team here at Norge has your back, and we’re here to help!
We’re sharing some best practices for oral health during the holidays. Around this time of year, your teeth could use some extra love. Here are a few items to consider during the festivities:
Careful with Candy
While delicious, Christmas candy can be harmful to your teeth in more ways than one. Hard candy could easily crack your teeth, possibly leaving you in pain or with pressure/temperature sensitivity. On the other side of the spectrum, candy that’s really sticky could remove dental work such as crowns or fillings, and it’s very difficult to remove from your teeth. The best defense is to be careful and limit your intake of these common culprits of dental damage.
Limiting your intake of sugars can also save you trips to the dentist for fillings later on. Eating large amounts of candy/other sugary foods is one of the main reasons that children are more likely to require fillings. Cutting back on sugars, eating healthy meals and visiting the dentist on a regular basis are the recommended ways to help prevent cavities from forming.
A Quick Trick to Prevent Teeth from Staining
If you have a glass of red wine during the holiday festivities, make sure that you swish water around in your mouth after you’re done to help prevent staining. Along with coffee, red wine is notorious for staining your teeth and can leave your smile less than brilliant after repeated exposure to acidic dark drinks like red wine.
Because your teeth have a porous surface, the pigments from the wine can settle into the small cracks of your teeth leading to potentially stained teeth. We’re not saying that you have to avoid red wine - and in fact, there are articles all over the internet that indicate that drinking red wine has numerous health benefits. You’ve probably even heard one of those benefits from a family member or friend.
Proactively Whitening Teeth
During this time of year, you might want to take an extra step to ensure that your smile is the brightest it can be. One of the ways you can do this effectively is through at-home teeth whitening provided by your dentist. While easily accessible during your grocery trips, over-the-counter teeth whitening products don’t perform as well as the ones you’ll find at your dentist’s office, so don’t be afraid to ask us.
When you book an in-house whitening appointment at Norge Dental Center, we can share options and even provide you with custom-fit trays and whitening gel that you can use at home. To schedule your appointment to talk about teeth whitening, call us at 757-941-7682.
We’re wrapping up another year at Norge Dental Center, and want to wish each of our patients a joyous holiday season full of good times with your family and friends. If you haven’t booked your (or your family’s) exams/cleanings for 2020 yet, give us a call today to secure your dates and stay ahead of the game. Cheers to starting the New Year off on the right foot!
Summer brings plenty of opportunities to enjoy fresh fruits and vegetables, whether you are shopping at a local farmers market, grilling with family, or spending the day outdoors. While most people know that brushing, flossing, and regular dental visits are important, many do not realize that certain foods can also support good oral health.At Norge Dental Center, we believe healthy habits start with everyday choices. Adding nutrient rich fruits and vegetables to your diet can help support healthy teeth and gums while giving your body the vitamins and minerals it needs.
Read MoreFor a long time, dental health was treated like it lived on an island, completely separate from the rest of our physical health. We used to think that what happened in the mouth stayed in the mouth, but modern medicine has completely flipped that script.Today, we know that your oral health is actually a major window into your overall well-being. When you take care of your teeth and gums, you are doing so much more than just keeping your breath fresh and your smile bright for photos. You are actively protecting your heart, your brain, and your immune system.The connection between your mouth and the rest of your body comes down to a single, powerful concept: systemic inflammation.
Read MoreLet’s be completely honest for a second. Around here, coffee isn’t just a morning beverage—it’s a lifestyle. If you’ve walked into Norge Dental Center early in the morning, you’ve probably smelled it brewing, and you’ve definitely seen our team clutching our favorite mugs like they hold the secrets to the universe.We love coffee. We need coffee.But as much as we worship the bean, we also worship a healthy smile. And unfortunately, some of the most common daily coffee habits are secretly wrecking your teeth.
Read MoreWhether you’re new to the Williamsburg area, or new to the Norge Dental family… we welcome you to a new dental experience. We are so thankful you are here.
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