The European Cup is upon us, and it has been nothing but football for nearly a month now. This is a great time to celebrate the wins and mourn the losses of your team, and to enjoy good sportsmanship and great company, along with snacks, beer and soft drinks galore. Although you will not be playing (most likely), some of the activities associated with rooting for your favourite team have negative consequences for your teeth. Here are a few things to be mindful of regarding dental prevention while the European Cup is on. Keep these few tips, and game on!
No one should begrudge you a celebratory drink after your team has won a hard match against an imposing opponent. The problem is that many football fans go a bit overboard and tend to start with a celebratory drink and continue on until their team wins or loses, and the result is way too much alcohol. Alcohol is bad for your teeth because it dries out the mucous membranes and dissolves the enamel of the teeth. The best way to counteract this and to achieve dental prevention is to drink plenty of water between drinks, and especially before you go to bed. Make sure you rinse properly and wait at least half an hour after your last drink before you brush your teeth, as the weakened enamel can be brushed off.
During the European cup, the sale of snacks will go up and up, including popcorn, chips, salty and sweet snacks of all sorts. These are kind of bad for your teeth; sweets contribute to the proliferation of bacteria, whilst salty foods dry out the mouth and can be quite abrasive to the soft tissues, and popcorn can break your teeth and get stuck in the cracks of your teeth. Make sure you floss properly after eating snacks, and that you rinse your mouth out after eating salty snacks, and try to limit your sugar intake in the name of dental prevention. Most sugar is consumed in the form of soft drinks, try and drink less of them as they are extremely bad for your teeth.
As long as you remember to brush and floss properly, and chew sugar free gum after the game, eating snacks and having a brew or a glass of wine to toast with is no problem at all. Make sure that you keep your focus on dental prevention during this time, and they should incur no damage at all during the European Cup. Enjoy the games, and may the best team win!
