How to Make Your Thanksgiving Dinner Tooth-Friendly

Thanksgiving is a time to enjoy reuniting with family and indulging in an array of delicious foods. As you have probably realized over the years, many of those items pack plenty of sugar and other troublemakers with that great taste to make life tough on your tooth enamel.

Fear not, because there are steps you can take to make the meal more hospitable to your oral health. Keep reading for some tips on how to deliver a healthy Thanksgiving in Fanwood.

Select and Stay with Set Eating Times

You may have heard that it’s healthier to eat several small meals throughout the day than a couple of large ones, but that also requires more maintenance on your teeth. If you aren’t brushing after every snack session, you are constantly exposing your teeth and gums to plaque-producing substances. On Thanksgiving, perhaps allow yourself 1-2 eating opportunities in addition to the major meal.

Watch Out for Hard or Sharp Foods

 Your mouth isn’t always facing danger from plaque buildup – sometimes it’s a matter of food texture. On Thanksgiving Day, there are so many potential suspects like hard candy, nuts, chips, and turkey bones just to name a few. Just be careful when biting and chewing so that your gums don’t get stabbed or something hard doesn’t get stuck in your teeth, dentures, or braces. If it happens, it helps to have some dental floss ready to roll.

Steer Clear of Sticky Foods

Candied pecans, caramel, and marshmallows can add some flair to Thanksgiving cuisine, but while your taste buds are cheering, your enamel is cowering. These items are packed with sugar and leave your teeth with a sticky residue that is liable to linger and produce plaque buildup. It is, of course, a facilitator for tooth decay, cavities, gum disease, and other oral health problems.

Select Your Beverages Carefully

Red wine is a popular choice on Thanksgiving, and fruit juice might be featured at the kids’ table. While tasty, drinks like these are high in acidity to elevate the risk for your enamel. Sugary or alcoholic drinks also cause dry mouth, which is an issue considering your saliva is normally hard at work to keep your teeth and gums clean. Try drinking as much water as possible throughout the day.

Try to Reduce Your Sugar Intake

As referenced in the sticky foods section, sugar is problematic when it lingers in your mouth. It feeds bacteria that produce harmful acids that hurt your enamel. Obviously, most desserts are suspects here, but don’t let sweet potato casserole and cranberry sauce sneak up on you, either. Reducing your sugar intake or implementing brushing and flossing throughout the day are both doing your teeth major favors.

It’s easy to get caught up in the fun of an occasion like Thanksgiving and forget about your oral health. But if your teeth could talk, you can bet they’d be chattier than that crew at the kids’ table about getting you to have a glass of water or a bathroom trip for brushing. Do them a favor while you are enjoying all the flavors!

About the Practice

At Scotch Plains Fanwood Dental Care, we prioritize a personalized approach with high-quality care and relaxing appointments because a dental visit should not be a stressful time. We understand that taking good care of your teeth on Thanksgiving might not always be easy with activity going on all around you. But, these tips can help, and as your dentist in Fanwood, we’ll be here after the holiday festivities for a dental exam and cleaning to make sure you maintain a smile you can be thankful for. Visit our website or call (908) 322-3222 to schedule your appointment.