It’s that time of year for ghostly decorations, horror movie marathons, and Monster Mash playing repeatedly on the radio. Halloween is the one day of the year where you lighten the limit on the amount of sugary treats you allow your children to enjoy. Nevertheless, you should still set some rules; otherwise, it won’t be long before your kids need an oral surgeon because their teeth rotted from all those sweets. Follow these Halloween dental tips for healthy children’s oral habits.
1. Create a Candy bank
Establish a candy bank and allow your children to make a limited daily withdrawal. Give them five or so tickets a day, which they have to give you before they can take a candy from their trick-or-treat bag.
2. Offer Healthier Alternatives
All candy with sugar is bad for your teeth, but hard, sticky, or nougat-filled candies are the worst offenders. Since they remain longer in the mouth, the sugar lingers as food for bacteria, which converts the sugar molecules into acid. Acid causes enamel erosion, which ultimately results in cavities that require treatment by an endodontist.
Offer your kids a trade-off where you swap out the hard and sticky candy for miniature solid chocolate bars or candy sweetened with a sugar substitute.
3. Reemphasize Good Oral Hygiene
Remind your children the importance of good oral hygiene since they’re going to be eating more candy than usual for the next few days. To make brushing fun and worthwhile, buy them Halloween-themed hygiene items. The links below are a few good items that children might like:
As always, don’t forget that good oral hygiene includes regular family dental visits. Following a few Halloween dental tips is only one part of maintaining good oral hygiene in the midst of increased candy consumption. Schedule a visit to your family dentist in Mukilteo by calling or messaging us today.
Edited by Justin Vorhees
Children’s Dentistry for Warding off Cavities and Caries
General family dentistry for Mukilteo, Everett, Lynnwood, Edmonds & Mill Creek