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Celebrating The Holidays With Lots Of Food? Avoid These Favorites To Protect Your Teeth

8 December 2015

Jordan Arnold

If you plan on enjoying a large holiday feast this season filled with a variety of desserts and dishes, you may want to watch what you eat. Although the holidays can be the best times of the year, the foods you eat may wreak havoc on your teeth later. Some holiday staples, such as cranberry sauce and sweet potato souffle, can stain or damage your tooth enamel. Here are two holiday favorites you should avoid to protect your teeth and gums and alternatives you can choose instead.

Cranberries

Whether you plan to serve whole cranberries in orange sauce or candied cranberries with powdered sugar, this favorite holiday staple can damage and stain your tooth enamel. The juice of cranberries are often recommended by doctors to help fight kidney and bladder infections. The acids in cranberries are strong enough to destroy the pathogens that cause these health problems. However, the acids produced can also eat your tooth enamel.

Acid erodes the surfaces of enamel by penetrating the tiny pores on it. Because cranberries have a naturally deep red color, they can also discolor tooth enamel. Both problems can be very dangerous for your teeth because they leave them vulnerable to decay and infection.

In addition, adding artificial sugars and other acidic ingredients to your cranberry dishes may increase your risk for tooth enamel damage. You can avoid the problems caused by cranberries by replacing them with other tasty berries, such as strawberries. 

Strawberries contain chemicals that whiten tooth enamel. A number of DIY sites recommend using strawberries by themselves or with other ingredients, such as baking soda, to remove tooth stains. However, you can enjoy the healthy benefits of strawberries by adding them to your pies, side dishes and other desserts. You don't need to add any other sweetener to your strawberries because they have a naturally sweet taste. Cranberries can be bitter, which means that you need to soften the taste with honey, brown sugar or white sugar.

Sweet Potato Souffle

Sweet potatoes by themselves can be wholesome and delicious treats. Sweet potatoes contain vitamin A and vitamin C. These nutrients keep your gums healthy by preventing gum disease. Vitamin A helps your blood cells reproduce and vitamin C protects your mouth from bacterial infections. But adding them to popular desserts, such as souffles, can take away those good benefits.

A number of holiday pies that use sweet potatoes as the main ingredient require you to add white or brown sugar and flavoring. Some flavorings, such as vanilla and lemon, may stain your teeth. The best way you can enjoy your sweet potatoes this holiday is to make a healthy dessert that doesn't require any sugary ingredients. Instead, all you need is raw honey, unsalted pecans and unsweetened whipped cream. Raw honey is sweet but healthier for you than regular honey, because it's not processed with chemicals or additives that remove or overpower the antibacterial benefits in it.

After you have your ingredients, here's what you do:

• Wash and peel five large sweet potatoes. 
• Place the potatoes in a boiling pot of water for 10 minutes. You want to soften up the potatoes without making them overly mushy.
• Remove the potatoes from the hot pot, then drain them in a strainer. Place the potatoes on a large plate to cool.
• Cut the cooled potatoes into large chunks, then mash them in a large bowl.
• Add 1 or 2 teaspoonfuls of raw honey to the potatoes, then gently mix the ingredients together. 
• Chop 1 cup of pecans into small pieces, then add them to the bowl.
• Serve the dessert warm or cold with unsweetened whipped cream.

You can enjoy the dessert at time during the holidays. 

Protecting your teeth during the holidays isn't easy. If you need more tips on how to keep your mouth healthy, contact a dentist near you to learn more.

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