EK Dental Surgery Tips:
6 Tips For Keeping Your Teeth Healthy During Easter

With Easter right around the corner, there’s no doubt that kids are dreaming of all the candy and treats they’ll be getting for the holiday. 

Many of us celebrate the holiday in part by giving out Easter baskets and holding Easter egg hunts filled with chocolate, candy, and other sweets. All of which are stuffed with sugar.

The problem is that sugar is terrible for teeth. At EK Dental Surgery, we hope you enjoy your Easter, but we don’t want you to do so at the expense of your health.

Which is why we’re sharing a short explanation of the dangers of Easter sweets, and what you can do to ensure that you and your family don’t end up paying the price for sugary overindulgence.

If you want to know more about the sugars you may eat during Easter and the things you need to do to prevent further teeth damage, read further.

What Is The Link Between Easter And Sugar?

Easter treats are all about sugar. The average Australian woman should have 25 grams of sugar, while men should have 35 grams.

Easter candies blow right by that number:

• One package of small yellow Peeps contains 34 grams of sugar.
• Lindt Chocolate Bunny. This innocent bunny has a shocking 50 grams of sugar.
• Cadbury Crème Eggs. 20 grams of sugar

Now, think about an Easter basket filled with these candies, or a bowl on a table. So much sugar, meaning so much potential dental damage.

If your child goes home with a basket full of Easter treats, he/she may want to finish all of them in one sitting. Check the Easter basket for beneficial and harmful treats for you and your child.

This is why EK Dental Surgery has six tips for your dental health over this Easter holiday.

Our Six Dental Tips for Easter

1. Avoid these candies. Chewy Candies are among the worst offenders, for two reasons. One is their stickiness, which exposes tooth surfaces to sugar over a more extended period. The sugars of the sticky candies may tend to stay longer on your teeth. They have another issue as well – they can pull out fillings or damage dental restorations. Chewy candies are also potential causes of tooth decay. They can get stuck between your teeth easily causing premature acid production and plaque build-up. Hard Candies present similar problems. Their hardness means they have more time to dissolve, exposing teeth to sugar for much more extended periods. Pieces of hard candy can also get stuck between teeth, exposing even more of the surface to sugar. Finally, biting down on hard candy can lead to lost fillings, cracked teeth and damaged dental restorations. Sour Candies have the same kind of issues as chewy and hard candies, but they add acid to the list of problems. Acids often create their sour taste, and the acids can harm tooth enamel above and beyond their sugary effects. The acid present in sour candies can be very corrosive to the tooth enamel.
2. Choose dark chocolate. If you’re going to eat chocolates, make sure it is dark chocolate, preferably organic, and with a sugar content of no more than 6-8 grams per serving. There are health benefits to eating dark chocolate in moderation, as it contains flavonoids that have been demonstrated to slow tooth decay. Dark chocolate also contains antioxidants, and it’s been shown that having higher levels of antioxidants in your saliva can help to fight gum disease.
3. Schedule your treats. The impact of Easter candy is not just related to its sugar content: it’s also related to how we eat candy. With candy easily accessible over the Easter weekend, it’s easy to nibble on sugary food all day long. This means that teeth are exposed to sugar for long periods, which can cause damage quite quickly. Instead of indulging consistently throughout the day, think about only eating sweets at certain times of the day, like after a main meal, and remember to brush more than 30 minutes afterwards. This limits the amount of time that there’s sugar attacking your enamel.
4. Don’t brush your teeth just after eating. You may think that you’re doing the right thing by brushing your teeth straight after enjoying a sweet, but this is not so. Immediately after you’ve finished polishing off candy 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, which will give your saliva time to neutralise any acidity.
5. Sugar-free chewing gum. Chewing sugar-free gum after meals can help clean teeth and lower the risk of cavities. Sugar-free gum is also good because removes food particles from your teeth and stimulates saliva production, which helps keep your mouth clean.
6. Visit your Glen Waverley dentist. In addition to hour oral hygiene routine at home, have regular cleaning appointments at EK Dental Surgery. A teeth cleaning removes the plaque that can lead to tooth decay. So, after Easter candy? It’s time to make an appointment with us at EK Dental Surgery. We’ll take a look at your teeth, clean them, and recommend any further appropriate treatment!

Reasons To Smile At EK Dental Surgery!

EK Dental Surgery offers a variety of preventative, restorative, and cosmetic dental procedures for patients of all ages and dental conditions!

We are a team dedicated to providing the best care possible. At EK Dental Surgery, we can help you achieve tip-top dental health and a movie-star smile!

EK Dental Surgery is conveniently located on Springvale Road in Glen Waverley. We provide free onsite parking facilities.

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Call us on (03) 9887 8787 or book your appointment online today!

We are a family friendly dental surgery located at 230 Springvale Road in Glen Waverley.