After talking with the local liquor store owner
this weekend I realised that there may be a much larger issue coming for the
dental world. The liquor store owner
stated that Memorial Day was the largest sales weekend in the entire year. This means that more people are drinking
alcohol over this weekend and most likely eating unhealthy foods at the same
time. I will admit I did this
myself. I went to multiple Barbecues and
at each one drinks with alcohol were served and lots of other unhealthy
foods. So what are the effects of extra
alcohol due to your normal daily dental routine. Should extra drinking require
extra care to be taken?
One of the major things that alcohol can due
during this weekend of heavy drinking is dry out your mouth. That can cause lots of extra issues that your
mouth. Saliva is what helps clean your teeth and wash away all the extra
plaque. So if your mouth is simply dry
and not able to produce enough saliva the plaque buildup will be greatly
increased.
This is also a bad thing if
you are eating more unhealthy foods during the highest weekend of drinking for
the year. So if you are going to be
consuming lots of alcohol during this weekend please try to add additional
water to your diet. If the average idea
is to drink one glass of water for each alcoholic beverage you consume, maybe
think about adding a little more water or at least sticking with water
ballance. Many individuals spend lots of
time extra outdoors during this weekend so make sure to account for the
dehydration effects that the sun can have on you as well.
Another area that excessive alcohol can effect
your dental hygiene is the area of Staining. The beverages you drink derive
their color from Chromogens. These
Chromogens attach to the tooth enamel that has been warn away by the acids that
come from alcoholic beverages. So if you are also mixing alcohol with dark
sodas, you can really kiss your pearly white smile away. So think of brushing your teeth with a nice
protective toothpaste and possible staying away from artificially colored
drinks during this weekend. Your teeth and your smile with thank you. It is also likely that your bank account will
thank you later for not causing so much damage to your teeth and forcing you to
see a dentist to take care of it!
