The Second Lockdown And Christmas – Will They Affect Your Oral Health?

Some timely oral health guidance from our Bedford dentists

As many of you will already be aware, The Dental Centre Bedford is open during the second lockdown. This is just one of the many changes from the first lockdown and it’s important as it enables us to continue to help patients who may have had their appointments cancelled due to the disruptions over the last several months. It is still a difficult time for a lot of us though, especially as it seems likely that there will be some significant restrictions in place even after the lockdown is planned to end early in December.

The other question on a lot of people’s mind of course is what will happen at Christmas?

As nobody really knows what will happen yet, we can’t really give any specific thoughts on that, but we felt that it would be an appropriate time to offer some general oral health guidance for both the lockdown and Christmas period, in the hope that it will reduce the cases of tooth decay and other damage to our teeth and gums.

Lockdown number two

It is probably fair to say that even if the first lockdown didn’t bother us too much, the second one has been more difficult. This may partly be down to the fact that we hoped the first one would be all that was needed. In addition, the weather for much of the first one was reasonably nice and although we were limited, we could at least go for local walks. We still can of course, but as the weather turns colder, damper and wet, more and more of us are probably spending a lot more time indoors.

Boredom and finding a coping mechanism can sometimes lead us towards habits that can have a negative impact on our teeth and gums. Although it might be hard, do try to keep to good habits during this time to help protect your teeth and gums.

Cigarettes, sweets and alcohol

When we are bored or stressed, it might be tempting to drop back into bad habits to seek to alleviate it a little. Unfortunately, not only are these bad for our general health but can cause a number of dental problems too. Sweets, we don’t need to tell you, contain high amounts of sugars and many are also sticky which means that they stay on our teeth longer. If you are working from home, try to keep these out of easy reach and have a supply of tooth friendly snacks nearby for when the temptation arises.

Smoking is a dangerous habit and is responsible for a lot of heart and lung problems. It is also a major cause of mouth cancer. In addition to this, smoking causes a dry mouth and can increase infections in the oral cavity. This means that gum diseases such as gingivitis and periodontitis are a real possibility.

The same applies to alcohol. The odd glass of wine shouldn’t pose any major issues, but drinking too much can have adverse effects and is best avoided. Moderation is always the best policy!

Christmas thoughts

Whatever happens this Christmas, it will inevitably be different to those that most of us are used to. Many of us will try to stick to some form of tradition though; some of which can have a negative impact on our teeth. The same as with lockdown, it is possible that we will eat a lot more sweets and cakes than usual and maybe consume more alcohol than we usually do. It is even possible that the odd Christmas cigar will be smoked. We don’t want to spoil Christmas but do bear in mind the damage that these can cause to your teeth and gums; so please try to keep to a sensible level.

A lot more of us will probably be doing our Christmas shopping online this year, so this seems like an appropriate time to suggest a few tooth friendly Christmas presents that you could buy.

Cheese selection – If you usually buy your friends and family sweets and chocolates, why not think about buying them a selection of cheeses instead? This is far more tooth friendly and also helps to reduce the acidity in our mouth that can damage the enamel on our teeth.

Electric toothbrush – If you and your family still use a manual toothbrush, why not use this opportunity to switch to an electric one? It is generally accepted that these are more effective at keeping your teeth clean and the rotating heads also help to remove bacteria from the gum line, reducing the likelihood of gum disease.

Water piks – At The Dental Centre Bedford, we recommend that our patients use dental floss to clean between their teeth and this is a cheap and easy way to do it if you practice a little. For those who simply can’t, or won’t use floss though, a water pik which blasts fine jets of water between the teeth, may help at least a little in removing trapped debris.

Cosmetic dentistry – Why not treat your partner to a new smile with a cosmetic dental enhancement as a gift for Christmas? Perhaps the most popular gift at this time of year is the teeth whitening procedure which whitens your teeth considerably, giving you a quick and simple way to improve your smile.

The general outlook is looking a little more positive, particularly with a number of vaccines now looking very promising. However, we still have a number of months to go, so this is a time to stick to our guns to help prevent the spread of the Covid virus and to keep ourselves and our mouths as healthy as possible whilst doing so.

If you need to see a dentist please be assured that we are still open. You can reach the team at our Bedford dental clinic on 01234 819868.