It’s that time of year when love is in the air! If you’re thinking of stocking up on extra treats for a lockdown Valentine’s Day, read on…
We’ve put together three top tips to help you love your smile – not just in the season of love, but all year round!
- Think twice when choosing treats
Boxes of chocolates and sweets fill the shelves in shops in the lead up to Valentine’s Day, and adverts are always encouraging us to pop the fizz and indulge with our loved ones. While it’s great to celebrate – especially as we’re all looking for any excuse to lift our spirits during this difficult time, consider swapping the sweets for flowers. The sugar in sweets and chocolate can cause tooth decay, particularly if you’re snacking on sweets between meals, as you’re exposing your teeth to constant attacks.
If you do choose a sweet treat, go for dark chocolate, and avoid boiled sweets or toffees. Dark chocolate contains less sugar than milk chocolate, so it’s a better option.
The acidity in fizzy alcohol such as champagne or prosecco can also harm your teeth, so if you do have a glass this Valentine’s Day, alternate it with water to help wash away some of the acid and stimulate saliva flow.
- Step up your oral hygiene routine
If you’re guilty of letting some oral hygiene habits slip while you’ve been spending more time at home, now’s the time to ramp up your routine. If your toothbrush or toothbrush head has seen better days, stock up on replacements. Think of it as a Valentine’s Day gift to yourself!
At Honour Health, we recommend that you change your toothbrush about every three months, or earlier if it looks frayed. Remember to brush twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste, and floss or use interdental brushes once a day to get to those hard-to-reach spots between your teeth.
- Book your dental visits and hygiene appointments
At Honour Health, we’ve resumed routine care and treatments at our practices in Jesmond, Ponteland and Stanley, so we can check the health of your teeth and gums and show you how to keep them in top condition. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, which is why we want to see our patients every six months. Even if you have generally good dental health, you might have been indulging in more sugary treats, snacks and alcohol than you realise over the course of the pandemic, so it’s important that we see you and nip any underlying problems in the bud.
Show your teeth some love each day and they’ll last a lifetime!