Thanksgiving Leftovers That May Harm Your Teeth

With all the preparation and cooking that goes into preparing each Thanksgiving meal, dental hygiene is likely the furthest thing from your mind when you start planning your menu. But one part of the Thanksgiving tradition ensures that whatever you cook for Thanksgiving will impact your family’s dental health in the weeks to come: leftovers.

Yes, thanks to the size of the average Thanksgiving meal, your family may be eating leftovers for days after, increasing its effects on your dental health. In particular, you may wish to watch out for the following foods:

Cranberries

While cranberries contain many nutrients that can bolster dental health, many servings of the dish contain lots of added sugar, or come in a Jell-O-like form that can stick to your teeth and get caught in the spaces between them. Don’t forget that deep-colored berries of any sort can end up staining your teeth.

Gravy

Sticky liquid substances are good at coating your teeth in a layer of sugars that attract plaque-creating bacteria, and Thanksgiving comes with many such substances. One of the most common is gravy, which can and often does go on several ingredients on your plate.

Desserts

Unsurprisingly, pie, cake, and cookies have some of the highest sugar content of any Thanksgiving dish, and therefore are some of the worst foods for your teeth, which can decay faster if your sugar intake is too high.

This doesn’t mean you need to cut these foods out of your Thanksgiving entirely. Instead, eat them sparingly, and make sure to brush and floss your teeth thoroughly after meals that involve them. There’s nothing wrong with a little dietary indulgence, so long as you continue to eat healthy and maintain good dental hygiene throughout the rest of the year, including going to dental cleanings.

To schedule your twice-a-year dental cleanings with the professionals at Baystate Dental. Call us today at or book an appointment online.

Our dentists serve patients in Springfield, Wilbraham, Westfield, West Springfield, Belchertown, Ludlow, and Chicopee.