To parents, Halloween is about little ones dressing up as their favorite super hero, princess or cartoon character and seeing spider webs witches and other spooky decorations.
To kids, it’s really about one thing — candy!
Candy, in moderation of course, is something that is apart of every Halloween holiday but if not careful it can lead to some pretty frightening issues with your child’s teeth.
Here are some tips you can take as a parent to prevent any unnecessary visits to Adaven Children’s Dentistry and keep your kid’s teeth from looking like the ones for a Billy Bob costume.
1. Encourage lots of water drinking. Drinking water after eating candy plays an important role in washing away sugar that would otherwise stick around. After eating candy your pH levels in your mouth can become a little off balance from the sugar, water will help balance that out. This is in addition to the overall health benefits we all know and love about water.
2. Choose chocolate over hard and sticky candy. The hard sticky candy is notorious for overstaying their welcome. They can get caught in the deep grooves and become much more difficult to get out creating a nice cozy home for those pesky sugar bugs.
3. Limit consumption of candy to certain times of the day like after dinner or lunch. Frequent grazing throughout the day is worse for teeth than having it at one time.
4. Limit juice and sugary drinks in the weeks following Halloween. This will help minimize the amount of sugar they are consuming.
5. Monitor and help your child brush, especially during this time! Remind them that sugar bugs love candy too and we must give a little extra attention to our precious teeth so the sugar bugs can’t hurt them.
6. Allow your child to chew sugar-free gum. It helps increase salivary flow and wash away acids and bacteria. Gum with xylitol is especially good because it actively blocks the production of decay-causing acid on the teeth. Also, what kid doesn’t love gum?
In conclusion, we are all excited about Halloween and the joy that comes with it. Feel free to call with any of your spooky questions or concerns. The Dentists and their staff at Adaven Children’s Dentistry are always here for you when you’re in a Crunch.
