Seasonal Changes To Your Oral Health

As the days shorten and the weather cools, we look at how the autumn season might unexpectedly impact your teeth and gums

Hopefully there are still some sunny days to come, but there can be no denying that Autumn is upon us. While some people resist this with the wearing of t-shirts and shorts etc, the vast majority of us have dug out warmer clothing in preparation for the next few months.

While we can regret the end of summer, Autumn offers some benefits too. The colours of leaves on the trees as they fall and the excuse to hunker down in front of the TV with a bowl of soup can be very pleasant indeed. Our Witham dentists now take a look at what a seasonal change of diet, from salads to stews, and other Autumnal changes, might mean for the health of our teeth and gums.

Sensitive teeth

Sensitive teeth can occur at any time of the year and are often caused by the erosion of the protective enamel surface of our teeth. This can be caused by brushing the teeth too hard, and especially if you use a whitening toothpaste that contains abrasives. Perhaps the biggest cause these days though is our consumption of very acidic drinks. These especially include the high sugar and high acid sports and energy drinks but also include general fizzy drinks too. These should be kept to a minimum, if not avoided altogether where possible.

With the cooler weather arriving, people affected in this way may find that the colder winds start to impact them as well. If you notice that you are experiencing teeth sensitivity, please get in touch with the Blake dentists in Witham and we can discuss options such as special toothpastes or potentially fitting porcelain teeth veneers as a solution to this problem.

Colds and flu (and Covid)

Any virus is likely to make us feel ill to some degree. To relieve the symptoms, we may well reach for syrups and lozenges, many of which are full of sugar (as they would otherwise taste horrible in most cases) and are also very sticky. This means that the sugars will stick to our teeth for longer and potentially cause more damage.

Add to this problem that the last thing we might feel like doing before we crawl into bed when ill, is to brush our teeth. It is important that however exhausted we feel, that we make sure to brush our teeth well before we go to bed and also ensure that we aren’t tempted to suck a cough sweet or take syrup after doing so.

Comfort foods

We mentioned this earlier and there is no denying that when the cooler and damper weather arrives, we are much less likely to crave a healthy salad and instead consume more comforting foods, such as stews or curries. These are not bad in themselves and can be very tasty, but are we perhaps subconsciously trying to take on more body fat as our ancient ancestors would have done to survive the pending cold? Sweet foods and especially cakes and puddings are also a big favourite and they naturally contain high levels of sugar.

While most of us will inevitably consume less tooth friendly foods during the Autumn, it is still a good idea to keep an eye on this and moderate to a sensible level. A good, focussed, tooth cleaning regime will help to mitigate some of the potential damage as well.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is important in the absorption of calcium, which helps to create strong and healthy bones and also teeth. With less sunlight and less inclination to be outdoors, it is believed that many people are deficient in this important vitamin in the UK during the cooler months.

There are plenty of foods that contain this important vitamin including oily fish, such as sardines, egg yolks, cheese and mushrooms among others. You might also wish to consider a vitamin D supplement. Your GP or pharmacist should be able to offer useful advice on this.

Central heating

Even those of you who are watching the pennies, or perhaps take a ‘hardy’ approach to the onset of Autumn, defying putting the heating on until you absolutely have to, will soon find yourself reaching for the on switch. It makes good sense to keep warm and can help to stave off some illnesses, especially in older and more vulnerable people.

The main issue here for our oral health is that the air in our homes tends to be drier and this causes our mouths to also start to dry out. It isn’t just during the hot weather that we should stay well hydrated but winter too. This means both indoors and outdoors. A lack of saliva allows bacteria to multiply more rapidly in the oral cavity and can increase the risk of gum disease.

Make sure to drink plenty of water (not fizzy drinks), brush and floss your teeth well and see our Witham dental hygienist every six months for a scale and polish procedure to help maintain a healthy mouth.

We hope that you find this advice useful and we’re always happy to address any dental related issues in a future blog if you let us know what you would like us to discuss.

In the meantime, if you are having a problem with your teeth or gums, or would like to book a check up or a general or cosmetic appointment, please do get in touch. You can contact us via the form on the contact page of our website or by calling Blake Dental on 01376 501688.