While “spooky season” is nearly over, don’t assume your smile is safe from sweets. If you aren’t careful, Thanksgiving desserts could decay your smile like Halloween candy would. You’d be wise to tailor your Turkey Day treats to be safer for your teeth and gums. Luckily, your Washington dentist is here to help with a few choice suggestions. Read on to learn four smile-friendly Thanksgiving desserts that’d go easy on your mouth this November.
Specialty Cheeses
Not only is cheese a great potential dessert, but it’s also pretty good for your mouth. Making it into a Thanksgiving treat would do wonders for your oral health.
You see, cheese protects your teeth over time. Its calcium should help your enamel regain minerals lost from other, less healthy foods. In other words, eating it would reduce your risk of cavities, tooth infections, and so on. That’s an excellent reason to swap out sugary cakes and cookies and replace them with specialty cheeses.
Rice Pudding
Maybe your Thanksgiving needs a substitute for sugar-laden ice cream. In that case, you may want to try a serving of rice pudding.
It turns out that rice pudding has less sugar and fewer calories than other desserts. To that extent, it won’t erode your enamel as much as more traditional sweets would. You can even make it at home to further control the sugar in the recipe. If you’d like, you can also use sweet substitute ingredients like cinnamon to make the dish better for your mouth.
Dark Chocolate
Chocolate indeed has a reputation for being bad for teeth. Even so, darker varieties are fairly safe Thanksgiving desserts for your smile.
Compared to milk-based kinds, dark chocolate isn’t that bad for your teeth. It doesn’t cling to your mouth as much because it melts quickly and uses less sugar. You wouldn’t have to fear for your smile if you made it one of your Thanksgiving’s after-dinner highlights.
Apple Crisp
An apple crisp is already tasty enough to be a Thanksgiving comfort food. That said, what makes it even better is that it’s fairly friendly to your teeth.
The ingredients for apple crisps don’t do much harm to your smile’s health. For instance, calcium-rich walnuts don’t erode enamel; you just have to ensure you don’t bite too hard. Topping a crisp with some oatmeal and maple syrup isn’t dangerous to your teeth. If you don’t go overboard with these ingredients, they’ll give your dish a sweet and festive flavor.
To learn other smile-friendly Thanksgiving desserts, consult your dental provider. They’ll gladly share their thoughts on treats safe for your mouth!
About the Practice
Dean Dental is based in the southwest part of Washington, PA. Led by Drs. Stacy and Jessica Dean, our practice is proud to provide patients with cutting-edge dentistry. We use the most current dental technology to ensure our preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments are top-notch! At the same time, this modern approach lets you enjoy comfortable and streamlined care. For more details or to book a visit, please contact us on our website or by phone at (724)-204-5858.