Six Tips for the Summer Holidays

With summer in full swing, many of us will be thinking about treating ourselves to a well-deserved break. But whether it’s to the Okanagan, California or beyond, there’s nothing worse than having a relaxing getaway interrupted by a sudden bout of illness. It is important that we know the potential risks to our oral health during this time so that something as easily preventative as a toothache doesn’t ruin our holiday celebrations.

So, here are a few tips to get us through the holidays…

1. The Dental Check-up

First things first, before you set off on your summer holiday, make sure you take a flying trip to your dentist. Although a visit to the dentist may not be at the forefront of your mind when preparing to go on holiday, it should be a part of everyone’s pre-holiday preparations, either as a precaution or to eliminate potential long-term damage to your dental health. But if you really can’t do it before – do it immediately after. A scale and polish might be a good thing after giving your teeth a hard time.

2. Don’t Forget Your Toothbrush 

This should go without saying but during the packing process, which can get especially manic, it’s surprising what can get left behind – even something as valuable in your daily routine as your toothbrush! It’s also a good idea to take a spare toothbrush, just in case you have a mishap with your regular one. Before a holiday is also the perfect time to buy a new toothbrush and pop it in your toilet bag.

3. Water, Water, and More Water

The importance of water during a hot summer holiday is vital for our overall health but it also provides a vital role for our oral health too. We should avoid regularly consumption of drinks with high sugar and acidic content such as sports drinks or fruit juices which increase the chance of dental decay and enamel erosion. 

4. Limit Your Sugary Foods

Our summer holidays are usually the time where we eat more excessively than usually, which more often than not, makes for a high-in-sugar diet. During the holidays we are more likely to “graze” but we must remember to keep this to a minimum. It is better for our teeth and general health to stick to three meals a-day instead of having seven to ten of these “snack-attacks”, which can cause dental decay and erosion, the loss of tooth enamel, which if worn away the dentine underneath is exposed and your teeth can look discoloured and become sensitive.

5. Protect Your Lips

While basking in the sun, many of us will sensibly apply suntan lotion to protect ourselves against the sun’s rays, in a bid to help prevent such diseases as skin cancer but what many people fail to realize is the importance of protecting our lips. With the skin on our lips being thin and particularly vulnerable due to the lack of melanin, shielding our lips from the sun on holiday is essential as prolonged exposure could lead to forms of oral cancer.

6. Regulate Your Alcohol Consumption

It’s easy to get carried away, but there a certain holiday luxuries that you should be particularly careful of – and one of these is alcohol. Regular consumption of sweet cocktails and fizzy alcoholic drinks can result in tooth decay…not exactly the holiday souvenir you were hoping for. And with alcohol being a leading cause of oral cancer we must make sure that we drink responsibly. 

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