If you are a Muslim living in Tameside, this will be an important time of year for you as you observe the Ramadan fast. But you may wonder what effects this will have on your oral health.
Writing for Dentistry Magazine, dentist Sakina Syed highlighted a number of benefits and also challenges that can arise from observing the fast.
Among the benefits will be that smoking is not allowed during this time, so if you are using the fast as a way of giving up cigarettes, this will be a great benefit to your oral health.
However, she warned, some people can crave sugary and unhealthy foods while fasting and so it is important to be careful not to break the fast with the wrong things.
A key question might be whether you can have an appointment with your Ashton-under-Lyne dentist while fasting. Some believe this is fine, while others argue should not happen due to the risk of swallowing water during the procedure.
There is a potential difference between a random check-up and emergency treatment, however. In the latter case, this is something you are permitted to do. If this interrupts your fast, you can make up the time by fasting more at the end of the month. You don’t need to consign yourself to pain.
Of course, most dentists will be quite aware if the potential impact various people’s religious observances will have at particular times of the year. After all, the celebrations of Christian festivals like Christmas and Easter are associated with plenty of sugary foods from Christmas pudding to big chocolate eggs, with obvious dental consequences.
The most important thing, of course, is to remember that looking after your health is a year-round thing, so it is not just what you do in Ramadan that matters, but at all other times too.