Alcohol and Dental Hygiene

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!