How to survive the upcoming festive munching?

How to survive the upcoming festive munching?

Can we actually damage our teeth during the festive munching? Does these few days of munching really cause harm to your teeth? Yes, you can damage your teeth. You will be surprised what a few days of festive munching can do to your teeth. The main culprits are the traditional snacks such as bak kwa, nian gao (sticky rice cake), cookies such as the must-have pineapples tarts and melon seeds.

Every time you take these foods, bacteria in your mouth will form acid that will cause damage to your teeth.  Gooey and chewy food such as nian gao and pineapple tarts adhere well to your tooth surfaces and there are more difficult for saliva to wash away. Saliva neutralizes the damaging acid and slow down the minerals loss from the teeth and allows repair to take place. Sufficient time must be given for the acid to be neutralized. Regular munching all day – a common practice during Chinese New Year – cause the acid level in the mouth to remain high. In fact, regular munching cause more damage to the teeth than eating a greater amount but less often.

The other concern is crack teeth. Chewing on hard nuts, crab shells, melon seeds, bones and ice can fracture your teeth. Constant chewing on meats (bak kwa) can give you pain on your jaw joint; the temporomandibular joint. Tenderness on the area just below your ear is a common presentation of jaw pain in relation to excessive chewing.

Survival tips during this festive season:

• Visit your dentist for a regular check –up before to make sure no undetected problems that might flare-up during the holiday period (many clinics are closed during the holiday period)
• Moderation is key. Go easy on the consumption of food that is hard and requires more time to chew.
• Bring your toothbrush whenever you go! Brush your teeth after every meal.
• Drink plain water in between snacks /meals instead of carbonated soft drinks or sugary drink.
• Eat cookies or dessert right after your main meals instead of in between meals.

Written by : Dr Debbie Hong