Diwali is the festival of lights, food and photos. Lighting Diya’s and eating delicious Diwali sweets go hand in hand. But does your sweet tooth often get you in trouble? Do you get pain or face other dental problems while eating your favourite Diwali faral?

Read on to find out what your problems mean and how to fix them

Sudden jaw pain while opening your mouth wide to fit in that ladoo

Ladoos are the most popular Diwali sweet. Be it motichoor or besan, everyone has a favourite.  But do you feel sudden pain or hear clicking sounds on opening your mouth wide to fit a ladoo inside? It could be a sign of jaw problems.

The TMJ or the temporomandibular joint takes care of the jaw and any injury to this joint causes jaw problems. Pain or clicking sounds indicate TMJ disorders. If left untreated, jaw problems can cause pain while chewing, talking, ear pain and facial muscle disharmony. So do not ignore them and visit your dentist at the earliest.

Fractured tooth or chipped tooth/ dislodged filling or cap while munching on those snacks

Shankar pali and chakli add the spice to everything nice during Diwali. It feels great to have something crunchy and spicy after eating all the soft sweets. But did this crunch leave you with a punch? Did you hear a crack or feel something breaking or loosening inside your mouth? It could be a sign that your dental filling that has fractured and come out or your cap has broken and dislodged.

Hard foods like chakli and shankar pali put a lot of pressure on your dental prosthesis. It is best to avoiding eating anything hard or sticky with your treated teeth. Broken teeth and fractured prosthesis need immediate dental attention. So visit your dentist at the earliest to fix it.

Tooth sensitivity while eating sweets

Diwali without sweets in incomplete. Store brought sweets are delightful, but nothing comes close to home made Diwali sweets. But does biting into your favourite sweet  give you sensitivity? Sensitivity is a sign of underlying dental problems. Cavities, broken teeth, excessive brushing, acid reflux, broken filling or cap can all cause sensitivity.

So check if you have any of these problems and visit your dentist to get the appropriate treatment. You can even start using a anti-sensitivity tooth paste like Sensodyne or Hydent-K for relief during the Diwali period. Don’t use these pastes for more than 3-4 weeks.

Yellow teeth while smiling for those Diwali pictures

Everyone loves taking pictures on Diwali and posting it on social media. A beautiful smile is our best accessory. But do your yellow teeth spoil your pictures and reduce your confidence? Yellow teeth are a sign of excessive drinking of tea, coffee and other teeth discolouring foods.

 Non invasive procedures like professional cleaning, polishing and bleaching can give you beautiful white teeth. Sensitive teeth can also be whitened with  veneers or crowns. So visit your dentist and ask them for the best teeth whitening option for you. Use teeth whitening pastes cautiously and avoid using them longer than 3 weeks.

Did your diwali snack leave you with a toothpain?

A Diwali faral platter is a deeply routed sign of Indian hospitality. Giving and receiving this platter is one of our traditional way of celebrating Diwali. But does getting tooth pain after having the faral platter leave a bad taste in your mouth? Tooth pain after having faral is a sign of poor oral care.

 Faral is an assortment of sweet and savoury foods. These can include soft sticky foods which cause sensitivity or hard food which can dislodge our fillings. Hard foods like anasrse or peanuts in chiwdas can easily crack our teeth.

Sticky sweets like besan ladoo can get stuck in our teeth and cause cavities and tooth pain.

So brush your teeth after having Diwali sweets to make sure that you do not have any cavity causing foods remaining inside your mouth. Floss to remove the hard to reach interdental spaces. And most importantly visit your dentist before Diwali to catch and treat any dental problems before they get worse.

Do not forget to brush twice a day and to floss and clean your tongue regularly. Remember that Health is the true wealth. So take care of your teeth and body.