Keep chocolate as a treat say South West dental experts
Dentists behind the Big Brush Club are warning against spreading eating our Easter eggs across several days
A dental campaign supporting children across the South West is warning of the impact of chocolate on dental health.
Around of third of children between 5 and 12 years old in the region have visible tooth decay, according to NHS figures.
Justin Marney from the Big Brush Club told Greatest Hits Radio chocolate should be seen as a treat rather than a habit moving forward.
"Decay is caused by sugar and obviously Easter eggs have a lot of sugar, so we just have to be cautious and wary about the amount of chocolate we eat over Easter," he said.
Justin added: "Keep the Easter eggs to Sunday, don't heard them for a month after Easter because that is going to cause bad habits and potential decay to your teeth."
He told us that the Easter weekend is a great chance to focus on oral health, but there's no need to be brushing our teeth more than twice a day.
"We only need to brush our teeth in the morning and in the evening," he said, adding: "When you have your Easter egg, don't immediately go and brush your teeth afterwards because actually, saliva protects teeth and will naturally protect teeth."
He also advised against spreading out consuming an easter egg, saying it's best to eat it all at once.
Justin said: "That is the period where the sugar is attacking the teeth and for about 1/2 an hour after you've eaten the egg."
Big Brush Club is a supervised toothbrushing scheme funded by the NHS, being delivered to early years settings across the Southwest.