During Easter, many of us celebrate with egg hunts, get-togethers, and baskets lined with green, plastic grass.
What we often don’t think of on Easter is how much sugar we are consuming, and how it might affect our teeth.
Unfortunately, Easter is known to be bad for dental health, up there with Valentine’s Day and Halloween for the sheer amount of sugar that is available.
At My Local Dentists West Ryde, we’d like to offer you six important tips that will help you, your kids, and your friends, to get through Easter without doing too much damage to your oral health or waistline.
Easter means too much sugar!
Easter treats are stuffed with sugar.
Health experts say that the average Australian woman should have 25 grams of sugar, while men should have 35 grams – no one should exceed 50 grams, in any case.
But take a look at what Easter candies offer:
- Brach’s Classic Jelly Bird Eggs. 30 grams of sugar
- One serving of a chocolate covered Peep (28-grams) has 14 grams of sugar. One serving of small yellow peeps is a stunning 34 grams of sugar.
- Lindt Chocolate Bunny. First, the “serving’ size here is an unrealistic half a bunny! Which comes in at 25 grams of sugar. But you’ll probably eat the whole bunny, and have a whopping 50 grams of sugar.
- Cadbury Crème Eggs. 20 grams of sugar.
Put it together, and the numbers can be staggering. One Cadbury Crème Egg, a serving of Yellow Peeps, and a chocolate bunny and you’re already at 84 grams of sugar.
Add a serving of jellybeans, and you’re over 110 grams.
Then factor in your Easter meals, drink, and the desserts that come with them? It is possible to get close to one week’s recommended sugar intake in one day!
And if your child has an Easter basket, they can be overdosing on sugar, day after day.
Which Is Why My Local Dentists West Ryde Offers The Following Six Tips For Dealing With Easter
- Avoid hard and sticky candies. Sticky sweets often lodge between the teeth and are hard to remove. When they sit between the teeth, your enamel begins to break down. Also, eating hard candies often leads to chipped or broken teeth. If you must eat something sweet, opt for some dark chocolate instead. You may also consider snacking on healthy foods like fruits and vegetables. Most fruits and vegetables are fibrous. They can brush away the food debris stuck on hard-to-reach areas like between your teeth. They can also help prevent bad breath. Crunchy fruits can freshen your breath in no time. They don’t have harmful sugars that can cause tooth decay and bad breath.
- No grazing. About 20 minutes after eating, your saliva begins to neutralise acids excreted by the bacteria present in your mouth. Each time you eat, those acids are created, and your saliva has to struggle to deal with them. If you can, eat crunchy food like a carrot or apple after you have something sweet. The fibre and liquid in the apple will help keep your teeth clean and freshen your breath. Wait a few hours between meals to keep your teeth in optimal condition, and eat your sweets with a meal, if possible. Eating your sweets with a meal can help lessen the acid production in your mouth.
- Don’t brush your teeth just after eating. You may think that you’re doing the right thing by efficiently brushing your teeth straight after enjoying chocolate, but you could be doing more harm than good. Immediately after you’ve finished polishing off your egg your mouth will be acidic, which will soften the enamel of your teeth, making them more vulnerable to damage caused by brushing. Instead, wait at least 30 minutes before brushing. This way, you will give your saliva more time to neutralise any acidity. In the meantime, a glass of water will help to rinse away any lingering fragments of candy.
- Be careful of serving sizes. This is true of all foods and particularly of candies, which often have unusually small “serving” sizes. It only takes a small handful of jellybeans or chocolate eggs to mean many days’ worth of sugar in your diet. Eat sugary foods in moderation. Anything eaten excessively can lead to serious health issues.
- Drink water – lots of it! Drinking a glass of water before eating reduces hunger and drinking during and after eating helps saliva keep your teeth clean, sluicing away harmful sugars and food debris. When you’re tempted to have a sugary soft drink, replace it with water with a lemon slice or cucumber twist. Drinking plenty of water also helps you avoid some common diseases.
- Visit My Local Dentists West Ryde. You should visit us at least twice a year and if you haven’t seen us yet in 2019, the Easter holiday is a good excuse to make an appointment. We’ll give you an examination and cleaning, which should help deal with anything that Easter candy might have done to your dental health. Visit us today to avail of our promising promotions!
My Local Dentists West Ryde Advantage
At My Local Dentists West Ryde, our treatments and service are 100% personalised to you and your needs.
Our dentists are highly motivated and accredited practitioners with graduate degrees from the University of Sydney.
Alongside our dentists, the supporting staff at My Local Dentists West Ryde are tremendously dedicated and experienced to ensure that each visit with us is as pleasant as possible.
GAP FREE
General Check-up, Scale and Clean, X-rays and Fluoride treatment (with any health insurance)
Visit your West Ryde dentist today!
Call us on (02) 9809 7000 or book your appointment online today!
We are your family friendly dental practice located at Shop 20 West Ryde Marketplace, 14 Anthony Road in West Ryde.