Teesside dentist urging people to be mindful eating Christmas treats
It could be difficult to get dentist appointments over the festive period
A Teesside dentist is urging people to be mindful this Christmas as finding an appointment over the festive period may be hard.
Many surgeries will be closed but those that will be open are going to be busy.
We're told there could be some cracked teeth, lost crowns and tooth aches from eating too much chocolate, having hard sweets, nuts or even pork crackling.
Paul Woodhouse, principal dentist at Grange Dental Practice in Norton, said: "Grazing throughout the day is a terrible way to eat because you get a spike of acid production which is what damages your teeth. If you're getting three spikes a day with your three meals, that's OK. If you're getting 15 because you're snacking all day and then you're doing that on sugary foods, then your'e going to get more damage to your teeth.
"If it's one day in your life and then you never eat sugary sweets again it's going to make very, very little difference but if it's part of a pattern of behaviour, then all you're doing is increasing the acid bath that is sitting on your teeth. It softens your teeth and you get holes in your teeth and get dental decay.
"As soon as you wake up in the morning, go and clean your teeth; so floss first, then any little brushes that needs going in-between your teeth if you've got any gaps, then pick up a dry toothbrush, no toothpaste, brush for two minutes and then put some toothpaste on, and then brush again for another two minutes. It'll take you 10 minutes and then you can have your breakfast.
"The best way to get acid production to drop down after you've eaten is either sugar free chewing gum or a bit of cheese. I prefer the cheese to be honest, as long as you avoid the crackers, and anything that contains sugar is bad for your teeth; whether it's a mars bar or an apple. The bacteria don't care, they just want their food which is the sugar."