{"id":402,"date":"2021-12-10T00:52:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-10T00:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/?p=402"},"modified":"2025-04-30T13:09:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T13:09:02","slug":"3-harmful-holiday-foods","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\/","title":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t Let Popular Holiday Foods Ruin Your Smile"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-medium wp-image-403\" src=\"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg\" alt=\"Smiling woman wearing holiday hat\" width=\"300\" height=\"171\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-1024x584.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-768x438.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-1536x876.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-2048x1168.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>The holidays are right around the corner, which means so are your favorite seasonal dishes and plenty of sweet treats. If you\u2019re like many adults, you\u2019ll likely indulge during the next few weeks. Besides having to loosen your belt a few notches, some holiday foods can come back to haunt your smile. Don\u2019t worry, you can enjoy tasty meals and delicious, but here are 3 foods you\u2019ll want to skip.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. Stuffing<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether stuffed inside of a turkey or on the side, the amazing blend of bread and herbs is a staple on many tables during the holidays. Unfortunately, you might want to leave it off your plate. Bread contains starches, which are just as bad for your teeth as sugar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The digestion process doesn\u2019t begin when food hits your stomach. Instead, it starts in the mouth. A special enzyme kick-starts digestion by converting starches into sugars, which will create cavity-causing bacteria. Although you may love stuffing, your smile will appreciate some fresh vegetables as an alternative to starches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. Candy Canes &amp; Hard Candy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Candy canes and other sweets are everywhere you turn, from grocery store counters to holiday gifts. Resisting your sweet tooth can be difficult, but your dentist recommends skipping the candy canes. Hard candies require sucking on them to dissolve, bathing your teeth in sugar for an extensive time. Eating candy canes too often will weaken the enamel, which can\u2019t regenerate. Crunching on hard candies isn\u2019t any better because it can lead to a broken or fractured tooth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The last place you want to spend the holidays is sitting in a dental chair. You can keep tooth decay at bay and avoid a dental emergency by choosing a piece of chocolate. It\u2019s easier to remove from the teeth and softer to chew. You\u2019ll still want to limit how often you give in to your sugar cravings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. Baked Treats<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Cookies, cakes, fudge, and many other sugary treats are the highlight of the season. However, they aren\u2019t just bad for your waistline. They can also harm your smile. It\u2019s nearly impossible to resist pie after turkey or cookies with hot cocoa, but you\u2019ll want to eat sweets in moderation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After you\u2019ve finished, rinse your mouth with water if you can\u2019t get to your toothbrush. You can also chew a piece of sugarless gum to promote saliva production to remove food residue from your teeth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Maintain a Healthy Holiday Smile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Besides watching what you eat, don\u2019t forget to brush after every meal and floss nightly. If it is time for your next <a href=\"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/preventive-dentistry.html\">cleaning and checkup<\/a>, don\u2019t wait until after the holidays. Schedule an appointment to ensure there aren\u2019t any untreated dental problems hiding in your mouth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">About the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>21<sup>st<\/sup> Century Dental of Irving offers the finest oral care services available. Led by Drs. Jeff Roy, Ashley Bristow, and Jonni Kumar, the staff ensures that each patient enjoys effective care and sincere courtesy in a friendly and calming environment. Areas of expertise include general, restorative, cosmetic, and emergency dentistry as well as denture services. To schedule your next dental checkup, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/contact-us.html\">contact the office online<\/a> or dial <strong>(972) 255-3712<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The holidays are right around the corner, which means so are your favorite seasonal dishes and plenty of sweet treats. If you\u2019re like many adults, you\u2019ll likely indulge during the next few weeks. Besides having to loosen your belt a few notches, some holiday foods can come back to haunt your smile. Don\u2019t worry, you [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-402","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>3 Harmful Holiday Foods for Your Smile<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The holiday foods you love don\u2019t have to leave a lasting mark on your smile. 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Here\u2019s how to safeguard your oral health.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"21st Century Dental of Irving | Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-10T00:52:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T13:09:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.21stcenturydental.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/holiday-smile-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1460\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"tnt_admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"tnt_admin\" \/>\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\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"tnt_admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6295131878a7299f4eb311f177d90b9d\"},\"headline\":\"Don\u2019t Let Popular Holiday Foods Ruin Your Smile\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-10T00:52:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T13:09:02+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":541,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/\",\"name\":\"3 Harmful Holiday Foods for Your Smile\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/3-harmful-holiday-foods\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/01\\\/holiday-smile-300x171.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-10T00:52:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T13:09:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.21stcenturydental.com\\\/blog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6295131878a7299f4eb311f177d90b9d\"},\"description\":\"The holiday foods you love don\u2019t have to leave a lasting mark on your smile. 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