Keeping Teeth Healthy During Halloween

Don’t let Halloween wreak havoc on your kid’s teeth! Here are some tips for keeping teeth healthy during Halloween.

Halloween is coming up soon. As children are dreaming of scary, funny, or fanciful costumes and people are decorating their homes and workplaces with spiderwebs and witches, parents and dentists start to worry about all that candy and the effect it will have on children’s teeth. Sugar is one of the worst causes of cavities in children’s teeth. The following are several tips to help children keep their teeth healthy on Halloween night:

• Try gum, instead of candy: Just make sure the gum is sugarless. Look for gum that has the ADA seal of approval, as that is the best way to ensure it is truly sugarless. Chewing gum after a meal helps produce saliva, which rinses the mouth of food and harmful acid made by bacteria in the mouth.
• Stay away from the sticky foods: The longer a candy stays around in the mouth, the more likely it is to cause cavities. Avoid culprits like licorice, taffy, and gummy bears that stick to the teeth and are harder for saliva to wash away.
• Avoid sugary beverages: With Halloween parties at school, homes, and other places, there are lots of sodas, juices, and other sweet drinks available for consumption. Help your child avoid sweet drinks that cause decay. Choose bottled water that has fluoride in it and offers that instead.
• Avoid hard candies: Hard candies can be extra sticky and take longer to wash away. This can lead to a higher likelihood of tooth decay.
• Encourage eating candies with meals: When children eat candy with their meals, the mouth produces more saliva to wash away the candy. Besides, it is better for blood-sugar balance to have healthier foods along with very sugary treats. Save the candy for dessert, so that children will feel more full and less likely to fill themselves with only candy.

Remember that the best way to prevent cavities is proper maintenance with regular visits to the dentist. Contact our office to schedule an appointment today!