Dental Care

St. Patrick’s Day – Don’t trade your smile for gold teeth!

Hudec Dental
Written by Hudec Dental

St. Patrick’s Day Fun Facts:
1.) Your odds of finding a four-leaf clover are about 1 in 10,000.

2.) The first St. Patrick’s Day celebration in the United States was held in Boston (1737).

3.) Corned beef and cabbage is a staple at many St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in America but the dish is hard to come by in restaurants in Ireland (it’s an English dish).

4.) Despite his Irish notoriety, Saint Patrick was British. He was born to Roman parents in Scotland or Wales in the late fourth century..

5.) Blue was the color associated with St. Patrick before the adoption of green as the color for the festival in 1798.

Dentists and St. Patrick’s Day:
St. Patrick’s Day is a celebration that comes with green beer, green clothing, green food, and—a trip to the dentist? It’s true! The amount of emergency dental visits actually spike after St. Patrick’s Day with a staggering 64 percent increase on March 18. This trend is seen across the country and the reason may surprise you!

Dentists see a huge influx of people who have dental emergencies after March 17 and, usually, it is those who have lost a tooth. Interestingly enough, this happens more to men than women. So, why does this occur?

Sikka Software did a survey of over 10,000 dental practices across the United States, and the results were all strikingly similar. They theorize that people are enjoying St. Patrick’s Day a little too much, and get into fights at the bar, which leads to damaged teeth!

Virtually everywhere in the United States will see this quick increase in emergency dental visits. In fact, 49 out of the 50 states exhibit this trend!

Men are more likely to visit the dentist after St. Patrick’s Day in most states. However, women have increased in:

  • Texas,
  • Rhode Island,
  • Nebraska,
  • Vermont, and
  • Maryland

While researchers may attribute dental emergencies to fighting, drinking alcohol in excess can cause a host of other emergency-related dental needs. If you fall or trip and hit your head or mouth, you may need to head to the dentist faster than a leprechaun could chase after a pot of gold!

Caring for Your Dental Emergency
Your dental health is important any time of the year and, when you have an emergency situation, Hudec Dental is there to help. Our team reserves specific time in the office just to see emergency patients and if you are already a Hudec Dental patient then we may be able to see you after hours. Find out more about our emergency dental services here, or call 216-661-8888.
Try to stay out of trouble on St. Patrick’s Day but if a speedy little leprechaun pushes you over, you know who to call!

 

*This blog post was initially posted in March 2016 and updated in 2019

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Hudec Dental

Hudec Dental