{"id":214,"date":"2022-12-08T21:50:00","date_gmt":"2022-12-08T21:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/?p=214"},"modified":"2022-12-18T21:50:31","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T21:50:31","slug":"5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"\u00a05 Tips for a Healthy Holiday Smile"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"SmilingThe holidays can add a few inches to your waistline, but the foods and drinks you consume can also leave a lasting mark on your dental health. You\u2019ll be surrounded by many of your favorite meals and sweet treats, which can wreak havoc on your oral health. You can enjoy the holidays and avoid bad news at the dentist by following 5 tips to protect your smile.\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

1. Step Up Your Oral Hygiene Routine<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You know you\u2019re supposed to brush your teeth in the morning and at night, but you\u2019ll be doing more snacking over the next few weeks. It\u2019s best to brush after every meal, instead of twice daily. Create a small oral hygiene kit with travel-sized products to make it easier to keep your smile clean, even when you\u2019re not at home. Don\u2019t forget to floss before heading to bed. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Limit Sugary Treats and Drinks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Resisting your sweet tooth can be difficult, especially during the holidays, but it\u2019s best to limit sugary foods and drinks. If you can’t resist your sugar craving, avoid hard or sticky candy because they cling to your teeth. Instead, choose chocolate because it rinses from your teeth easier. It also won\u2019t bathe your teeth in cavity-causing sugars for too long, like when sucking on a candy cane. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

3. Drink Plenty of Water<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Healthcare professionals recommend drinking eight 8-ounce glasses of water daily to stay hydrated. Water isn\u2019t just important for your general health, but it also keeps your mouth moist. A dry mouth is a perfect environment for harmful bacteria to get out of control quickly. It\u2019s best to drink plenty of water to keep your mouth moist. It will also help cleanse food residue and bacteria from your teeth in between brushing and flossing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4. Chew Sugarless Gum<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Chewing gum stimulates saliva production to keep your mouth clean and moist. Chewing sugarless gum is a great way to keep your pearly whites clean when you can\u2019t get to your toothbrush after eating. You\u2019ll have minty fresh breath and a reduced risk of decay by reaching for a piece of gum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5. Protect Your Smile from Stains<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Red wine, cranberries, and other dark foods and drinks can stain your enamel. You can prevent starting the new year with discolored teeth by skipping stain-causing foods. If you can\u2019t skip having cranberry sauce with your turkey, rinse your mouth with water after.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visit Your Dentist Before the New Year<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Although the holiday season is busy, don\u2019t forget to schedule your semi-annual cleaning and checkup. You\u2019ll prevent a dental emergency<\/a> from interrupting your holiday plans and have a beautiful, healthy smile you\u2019ll be proud to show off in the new year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

About Dr. Sarah Esparza<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Esparza<\/a> earned her dental degree from the University of Maryland Dental School and worked as a general dentist in the United States Air Force for 7 years. She regularly completes continuing education in advanced services. If you need a cleaning and checkup before the holidays, contact our office<\/a> today to request an appointment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The holidays can add a few inches to your waistline, but the foods and drinks you consume can also leave a lasting mark on your dental health. You\u2019ll be surrounded by many of your favorite meals and sweet treats, which can wreak havoc on your oral health. You can enjoy the holidays and avoid bad […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-oral-health"],"yoast_head":"\n5 Tips to Protect Your Smile from Holiday Foods<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Many of your favorite holiday foods can wreak havoc on your dental health, but you can safeguard your smile using 5 simple tips.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Tips to Protect Your Smile from Holiday Foods\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Many of your favorite holiday foods can wreak havoc on your dental health, but you can safeguard your smile using 5 simple tips.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esparza Family Dentistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-12-08T21:50:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-18T21:50:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"esparzafamily\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"esparzafamily\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/\",\"name\":\"5 Tips to Protect Your Smile from Holiday Foods\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-12-08T21:50:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-18T21:50:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/29c379fb6916024d0cbc7e5df64afdf4\"},\"description\":\"Many of your favorite holiday foods can wreak havoc on your dental health, but you can safeguard your smile using 5 simple tips.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1460,\"caption\":\"Smiling woman wearing a Santa hat\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u00a05 Tips for a Healthy Holiday Smile\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Esparza Family Dentistry\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/29c379fb6916024d0cbc7e5df64afdf4\",\"name\":\"esparzafamily\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efe27fac76fab47b5e7eec8a581a424c25b87bb9213bb6b84d0e694044f10bbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efe27fac76fab47b5e7eec8a581a424c25b87bb9213bb6b84d0e694044f10bbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"esparzafamily\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/author\/esparzafamily\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Tips to Protect Your Smile from Holiday Foods","description":"Many of your favorite holiday foods can wreak havoc on your dental health, but you can safeguard your smile using 5 simple tips.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Tips to Protect Your Smile from Holiday Foods","og_description":"Many of your favorite holiday foods can wreak havoc on your dental health, but you can safeguard your smile using 5 simple tips.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/","og_site_name":"Esparza Family Dentistry","article_published_time":"2022-12-08T21:50:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-18T21:50:31+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg"}],"author":"esparzafamily","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"esparzafamily","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/","url":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/","name":"5 Tips to Protect Your Smile from Holiday Foods","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg","datePublished":"2022-12-08T21:50:00+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-18T21:50:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/29c379fb6916024d0cbc7e5df64afdf4"},"description":"Many of your favorite holiday foods can wreak havoc on your dental health, but you can safeguard your smile using 5 simple tips.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/holiday-smile-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1460,"caption":"Smiling woman wearing a Santa hat"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/5-tips-to-protect-your-smile-from-holiday-foods\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u00a05 Tips for a Healthy Holiday Smile"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/","name":"Esparza Family Dentistry","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/29c379fb6916024d0cbc7e5df64afdf4","name":"esparzafamily","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efe27fac76fab47b5e7eec8a581a424c25b87bb9213bb6b84d0e694044f10bbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/efe27fac76fab47b5e7eec8a581a424c25b87bb9213bb6b84d0e694044f10bbc?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"esparzafamily"},"url":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/author\/esparzafamily\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=214"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":216,"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/214\/revisions\/216"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esparzafamilydentistry.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}