The festive aftermath: looking after your teeth and gums in January

December is a month of chocolate tins, mince pies, fizzy drinks and late nights, and routines tend to slip along with everything else. Nobody is checking the clock for a bedtime brush when every day feels like a Sunday.

Then January arrives and something feels off. A twinge with cold water. Teeth that look duller than they did. Gums that bleed when you finally get back to flossing. Here is what is behind each of those, and what actually helps.

What four weeks of festive habits does

• Sensitivity. Frequent sugary and acidic food and drink softens the enamel surface temporarily. It is the frequency that matters more than the quantity. Grazing on a tin of chocolates across an afternoon keeps your mouth acidic for hours.
• Staining. Red wine, mulled wine, coffee and dark fizzy drinks all leave surface stain on the enamel, and it builds quietly over a few weeks.
• Early demineralisation. Repeated acid attacks draw minerals out of the enamel. Caught early this can often be arrested. Left alone it is the start of a cavity.
• Swollen or bleeding gums. Missed brushing lets plaque sit undisturbed along the gumline, and gums become inflamed within days. Bleeding when you brush is a sign of inflammation, not a reason to stop brushing that area.

Getting back on track

None of this needs a dramatic January overhaul. A few practical things carry most of the benefit.

• Brush twice a day, and give the gumline the time it needs. An electric toothbrush makes this easier for most people, mainly because the timer stops you finishing early.
• Clean between your teeth once a day. Floss or interdental brushes both work. The brushes suit most adults better. If your gums bleed for the first few days, that is usually the inflammation itself rather than damage from cleaning, and it typically settles within a couple of weeks. If it does not settle, get it looked at.
• Group your sugar rather than spreading it. Telling people to stop eating sugar does not work. Keeping it to mealtimes, and rinsing with water afterwards, reduces the number of separate acid attacks your enamel has to recover from.
• Do not brush straight after something acidic. Wait an hour. Brushing softened enamel wears it away faster.
• Ask which toothpaste suits you. Sensitivity, staining and a high decay risk all point to different products. Your dentist or hygienist can be specific about yours.

Why gum health is worth the effort

Gum disease is common and largely painless in its early stages. Research has also reported associations between gum disease and general health conditions including heart disease and diabetes, though an association is not the same as a cause and the evidence is still developing.

The practical point is simpler. Early gum inflammation is reversible with better cleaning and a professional clean. Once it has progressed to bone loss around the teeth, it is manageable but not reversible. The earlier it is caught, the less there is to do.

Booking a January reset

If it has been a while, an Airflow Spa Clean, our hygiene appointment, is £99, which includes gum health charting and stain removal. A routine examination is £50, and a new patient examination is £35 if you have not been to us before.

Surface staining from tea, coffee and red wine usually lifts with a professional clean. If the underlying shade of your teeth is what bothers you, that is a different conversation, and dentist-supervised teeth whitening is from £275. Our full fees are on the fees page.

You can book online at sale-dental-care.portal.dental or call us on 0161 969 7464.