Season’s Greetings From Mike Allen’s Dental Practice

Helping you to maintain good oral health into 2018 and beyond.

After thirty years of running a dental practice in Burton Upon Trent, we know many of our longer standing patients on a personal level. Some of our current adult patients came to us as children and now bring their own here. Of course, many things have changed over the years and we are now able to offer a wider range of treatments.

2017 has been a good year and we hope that it has for all of our patients too, and also that 2018 will bring you good oral (and general, of course) health.

To help you with this, here are a few of our tips for keeping your teeth and gums in good shape over the festive holiday season, when we may have a tendency to let certain things slip a little!

Keep brushing

However much we tell people about the harm that sugar, alcohol etc can do to their teeth and gums, we know that most people will let things go a little at Christmas. It is inevitable that more sweets and chocolates will be eaten. More alcohol will also be consumed, often by those who drink little during the year.

Given that the above is inevitable, our most important piece of advice to you is to make sure that you brush and floss your teeth on a regular basis. No matter how tired you may be, giving your teeth a thorough brush, and flossing too, will help to minimise the risk of any harm caused by the above.

Reduce the sugars

As we have already said, we know that more sweets and chocolates will be eaten, but this does not mean that they can’t be alternated with other products. A nice selection of cheeses, for example, could be very popular with the adults especially. Cheese also has the additional benefit of helping to restore the ph balance of our mouths, helping them to stay healthy.

Hydration

Whether it’s running round after the kids, or cooking the Christmas dinner, we know that Christmas time can be quite tiring, despite that fact that we often think of it as a time to relax. The heat and energy spent on these festive activities can lead us to become dehydrated. Make sure to drink plenty of water, especially if you are also drinking alcohol. This will help to keep your mouth fresher and healthier, helping to control the growth of harmful bacteria on the teeth and gums.

Last minute Xmas shopping

Finally, if you are still looking around for a stocking filler for your family, why not pop in an electric toothbrush? Too many of us use toothbrushes that are over three months old, and therefore less effective. Electric toothbrushes will encourage younger children to brush their teeth and many also have a pressure sensor built into them which prevents you from harming the enamel of your teeth through excessive pressure.

Finally … we wish all of our Burton patients a very merry Christmas from the team at Mike Allen’s Dental Practice, and hope to see you all in the new year. Hopefully it will be unnecessary, but if you do need to have emergency dental care during the festive period, when our practice is closed, we are part of the South Staffordshire Emergency Dental Service who can be contacted on 07731 107470.