Dentist Tips for Holiday Candy Treats

Wellness

Dental Health for Halloween and Holidays

Protecting your teeth is important at every age, whether you're a kid or an adult, since we will each only get 1 permanent set of teeth in our lifetimes. During the holidays, candy and other sweet indulgences are even more abundant at this time of year. So there's no better time than now to talk about dental care with the season of sugary delights kicking off soon: Halloween, followed by Thanksgiving, the winter celebrations of Hanukkah and Christmas, all the way through other holidays associated with sticky chewy confections like Valentine's Day, Purim and Easter. 

Good brushing and flossing habits, of course, are a given for all of us, as are getting regular checkups and cleanings for your family's pearly whites at your local dentist. Taking that one step further we're encouraging our national base of family lifestyle readers to consider expanding your dental health knowledge and strategy this as the season of sweets begins.

Dr. Craig Noblett, a dentist and president of the American Association of Endodontists, has some valuable information to share that benefits parents, kids and everyone else who has a sweet tooth.

6 Family Dental Tips for Halloween, Other Holidays

• Eat Candy After Meals – Saliva production increases during meals and helps neutralize acids

• Drink Water Immediately After Consuming Sweets – It helps wash away sugary food particles

• Wait 30 Minutes Before Brushing – Wait at least 30 minutes to brush your teeth after eating candy or food. This allows your saliva to naturally do its job of rebalancing the oral environment

• Limit Certain Candy - Hard candies, sticky candies and sour candies are particularly harmful to teeth and especially problematic for those who wear braces and other dental appliances as they can break or loosen the brackets and wires

• Use Halloween as a Teaching Opportunity – Halloween, especially if you have young children, is the perfect time to reinforce why the sugar in candy and other sources such as soda and juice are harmful to your teeth if you don’t take proper care after consumption. Using kid-friendly, age-appropriate relateable terms like “sugar bugs” as opposed to bacteria or acid make it easier for kids to understand
• If you or your child chips a tooth – Seek out consultation as soon as possible from an endodontist, which is a dental specialist who has special additional training focusing on the inside of the tooth 

Where to Find a Local Endodontist

 

Check to see if there's an endodontist near you here  

READERS NOTE: This post is for informational purposes only. Always consult with your own dentist and healthcare team as this is not intended as a substitute for professional dental advice.