While kids can get cavities year-round, they’re especially at-risk during Halloween. After all, it’s basically a festival that’s all about candy and other treats! By trick-or-treating from door to door, children gather more sweets that could erode their tooth enamel. As such, you’ll want to protect your kids’ smiles during this spooky season. Luckily, a dentist in Dyer is here to offer some help. Read on to learn four tips that’ll prevent tooth decay and cavities from Halloween candy.
Practice Stellar Oral Hygiene
Of course, your children should brush and floss their teeth daily. Still, they must do so on the days before and after Halloween. Brushing twice daily and flossing once daily will eliminate bacteria and other debris that could trigger tooth decay.
You could help your kids learn proper brushing techniques to ensure they stick with this habit. Doing so would teach them to move the brush back and forth against their teeth with short, gentle strokes.
Keep Certain Candies to a Minimum
As it turns out, some candies are worse for teeth than others. In particular, those that stick to teeth for a long time do a lot of dental damage. For this reason, try to keep your kids from having the following:
- Sticky candies like caramels, gummies, or taffy
- Hard candy that takes time to dissolve, including jaw-breakers, lollipops, etc.
Set a Limit on Candy Consumption
To reduce their smiles’ exposure to sugar, set a hard limit on how much candy your kids can have. For instance, you could have your family members keep their favorite sweets and donate the rest. On the other hand, consider setting a rule that says your children can only have candy during meals. Not only would this shorten their candy-eating timeframe, but the extra saliva produced at these periods would wash away sweet debris.
Consider Candy Alternatives
If you feel particularly bold, try setting up a “candy swap.” In other words, tell your child they can either keep their Halloween candy or exchange it for a different reward. The latter could be a new toy they’ve been wanting or a fun activity they enjoy doing. You might even throw in sugar-free gum as one of the options, as it washes away sugars in your child’s mouth and neutralizes tooth-decaying acids.
Using the tips above, you can ensure your children keep smiles as sweet as their Halloween candy. Consider talking with your local dentist in Dyer for other cavity-prevention resources.
About the Practice
Advanced Dental Concepts is based in Dyer, IN. As led by its wonderful team of dentists, our practice provides comprehensive dental care in a convenient location. In other words, we perform preventive, cosmetic, and restorative treatments, not to mention emergency tooth care. Given this fact, you can count on us for everything from dental checkups to replacement teeth. For more information or to book an appointment, you can reach us on our website or by phone at (219)-322-3418.