Show Your Smile Some Love This Valentine’s Day

Valentine’s Day is on the way, and sweet treats are a Cupid-approved Valentine’s tradition. Make your day even sweeter by showing your smile some love while enjoying your favorites!

Be Choosy with Your Desserts

When it comes to healthy desserts, some are love at first bite:

• The Charms of Dark Chocolate

If you’re head over heels for chocolate, good news! Dark chocolate is often called a “superfood” because it’s rich in nutrients and antioxidants. And there’s more! Because dark chocolate contains less sugar than milk or white chocolate, it’s the best dental choice for chocoholics.

• Dairy Delights

Dairy foods might be your perfect match when it comes to maintaining healthy teeth and gums. The calcium and phosphorus minerals in milk, yogurt, cream, and other dairy products help strengthen and restore tooth enamel. The vitamin D in dairy foods helps our bodies absorb these minerals and put them to work. Vitamin D also plays a role in preventing gum disease.

You can make your Valentine dairy treats extra-healthy with yogurt. Yogurt desserts often have less sugar than their creamy cousins, and yogurt contains probiotics which combat harmful bacteria and support gum health.

• Fancy Fruits

Perhaps fruits are the apple of your eye. After all, fruits are a wonderful source of vitamins, minerals, fiber, and antioxidants. Flavorful smoothies, juicy fruit kabobs and parfaits, and rich sorbets might be less traditional Valentine’s choices, but are no less delicious!

Since a little decadence is expected on Valentine’s Day, why not treat yourself to strawberries dipped in dark chocolate or yogurt? Besides the vitamins and minerals which strawberries offer, they also contain malic acid, which can act as a natural tooth-whitener.

Avoid Sweet Treats on the Naughty List

Okay, Cupid doesn’t have a naughty list. But if he did, these foods would definitely be on it because of the damage they can cause to teeth and dental work.

• Sour candies and sour gummy anythings aren’t good for your teeth. Highly acidic foods erode the mineral strength of your tooth enamel, and this can lead to tooth sensitivity and tooth decay.
• If you wear braces, chewy, nutty, hard, and sticky foods can damage your wires and brackets. Instead, choose braces-friendly treats like soft chocolates and truffles.
• Similarly, for people with crowns, bridges, or dentures, hard, sticky, and chewy candies and other foods can potentially dislodge or damage dental work. Dr. Tavory can help you choose the healthiest options on the Valentine menu.

Treat Yourself Well—But Not Too Often!

While it’s tempting to enjoy Valentine’s treats all day long, do your enamel a favor and snack moderately. Eating frequently throughout the day, or “grazing,” defeats one of your body’s amazing natural methods of cavity prevention.

It’s not just people who enjoy sugar—oral bacteria love sugar, too. Sugar fuels the bacteria which are responsible for cavities. Bacteria in plaque use sugar to create acids which, like acidic foods, cause enamel erosion and decay.

Part of the body’s natural cavity-fighting mechanism is saliva. Saliva washes away food particles and bacteria, provides minerals to reinforce enamel strength, and helps neutralize acids.

But it takes about 30 minutes for saliva’s neutralizing process to begin. Constant snacking delays acid neutralization and reduces its period of effectiveness. Limit your snacks and avoid grazing to help your body’s natural defenses work their best for you.

Give Your Smile Some Extra TLC

We all enjoy a special dessert on a special occasion–and Valentine’s Day certainly qualifies! Just remember to take special care with your dental hygiene after enjoying sugary treats.

• Brush and Floss

Be sure to brush and floss for the amount of time recommended by the team at Tavory Family Dentistry—brush at least two minutes in the morning and evening, and floss at least once each day. It’s a good idea to give your teeth an extra brushing after an especially sugary confection.

• Drink Water

Water not only hydrates, it encourages saliva production. And, if you can’t brush right away, rinsing with water helps remove food particles from your teeth.

Valentine’s Day is a day celebrated with all kinds of sweet things, and one of the sweetest is your healthy smile. Make this Valentine’s Day in Boca Raton special by showing your smile the love it deserves!