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Here are five common treats to limit during the holidays!

The old adage “too much of a good thing” is never more true than during the holiday season. There tends to be an overabundance of everything – especially sweet treats. While it’s impractical to suggest complete avoidance of holiday goodies, our friends at Delta Dental encourage moderation to make sure you receive the priceless gift of great oral health!

Here are five common treats to limit during the holidays:
  1. Candy Canes: The problem with eating candy canes is the prolonged period of time that they linger in your mouth. Not to mention, the temptation to chomp on them, which can lead to cracks or chips in your teeth. Consume them in moderation to limit their negative oral health impact.
  2. Christmas Cookies: It’s tempting to overindulge when there’s an abundance of baked goods. Cookies are laden with sugar and can do significant damage to your pearly whites. We know that skipping cookies entirely may be a challenge. Just enjoy them in moderation.
  3. Holiday Drinks (such as eggnog, apple cider and hot chocolate): Festive beverages offer more than warm, holiday cheer. Eggnog boasts over 20 grams of sugar, while hot cider can pack over 65 grams of sugar. Stick to one small serving of your favorite drink, and wash away some of the sticky sugar residue with a glass of water.
  4. Caramels: Chewy, sticky treats, such as grandma’s famous homemade caramels are particularly damaging, because they are high in sugar and spend a prolonged amount of time stuck to teeth. The same attributes apply to all of those sparkly gumdrops on your gingerbread house.
  5. Fruitcake: Even though it’s the butt of many holiday jokes, some people actually eat the fruitcake that gets passed around at holiday parties. Oral health reasons to avoid it include the sugary cake base and the chewy, candied fruit throughout.
Cookies, candy and sweet holiday beverages all have at least one main ingredient in common: sugar. Why is sugar so bad for your teeth? It mixes with bacteria in the sticky plaque that constantly forms on teeth to produce acid that attacks tooth enamel. The stickiness of that plaque holds harmful acids against the teeth, which contributes to tooth decay.

When you do indulge your holiday sweet tooth, it’s best to enjoy goodies as part of, or immediately following, a meal rather than snacking on treats throughout the day. Another good tip is to stick to one small serving of your favorite drink or snack and wash it down with a glass of water to help remove some of the sticky sugar residue.

Merry Christmas,

 OGD!

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