Watching your child dress up as their favorite cartoon character or super hero brings you massive joy, but every Halloween, you’re worried about their fragile, developing mouth becoming affected by oral health problems. Your house is about to become an apocalyptic stockpile of bags full of free candy, and between you and your little ones, you’ll be snacking on delicious sweets until the new year. That’s why it’s important to have these six Halloween candy tips in your back pocket to keep cavities from wreaking havoc on your family’s oral health.
Ditch Hard Candies
To eat hard candies, you either have to suck on them for minutes at a time or crunch into them with your teeth. On one hand, you could risk chipping or cracking your pearly whites. On the other, you’re exposing them to sugar for long amounts of time without a break. Either way, you’re putting your teeth in harm’s way, resulting in the formation of cavities or needing emergency dental care.
Keep Your Family Hydrated
For the next month or so, you’ll be snacking on small sweets every so often. A great way to remove cavity-causing sugars from your teeth is to drink plenty of water. This helps clear away any lingering food debris, harmful bacteria, and plaque. Be sure to pack your children small water bottles so they’ll have a sugar-free beverage to drink whenever they’re feeling thirsty.
Maintain a Nutritious Diet
Maintaining a healthy diet outside of the occasional sweet snack can actually keep your teeth and gums healthy. Eating fibrous foods like celery can help naturally scrub away built up plaque and sugar from your teeth, reducing your risk of developing cavities.
Chew Sugar-Free Gum
Your saliva helps keep your oral health in tip-top shape by regularly removing harmful substances from your mouth. Chewing sugarless gums for 20 minutes after a meal can increase your saliva production, neutralize acids produced by harmful bacteria, and wash away food debris. If your child is craving something sweet, you may even suggest a piece of ADA-approved gum instead of candy from their Halloween stash.
Maintaining Oral Hygiene Routines
For children, all the holiday excitement during and following Halloween can distract them from their oral hygiene routine. To make sure you and your children’s mouths stay healthy, remember to brush twice each day for two minutes with fluoride toothpaste and floss at least once a day. Brushing and flossing at home is the first line of defense against common oral health problems.
Visit Your Family Dentist
The month following Halloween can be the best time to schedule your family’s routine checkups and cleanings to keep oral health problems at bay. If any of your loved ones does have a cavity forming, your dentist will be able to treat it immediately, preventing it from turning into a tooth infection.
It can be tempting to continuously eat sweets during the months following Halloween. The good news is that you don’t have to completely cut out sweets to take care of your oral health. As long as you follow these six Halloween candy tips, you should be able to ward off any cavities and keep your pearly whites in peak health.
About the Author
Dr. Steven Crovatto places emphasis on providing families with high-quality preventive dental care. That way, they can avoid needing any costly and invasive treatments caused by severe oral health problems. He is passionate about caring for smiles of all sizes and making it easy for parents to take care of not just their mouth but also their little one’s. For questions or to schedule routine checkups and cleanings for your family, visit Crovatto & Edwards Family Dentistry’s website or call 904-272-0800.