For most dentists, Halloween is not a favorite holiday. Several hours of bathing the teeth in sticky, sugary treats is enough to make any dental professional wince in fear. However, at Napa Valley Dental Group, we know that Halloween festivities are exciting for children, and we don’t want to ruin your family fun. After all, it’s the one chance to dress up and gather free treats from your neighbors.
Don’t worry; you don’t have to abstain from your trick-or-treat loot completely to protect your teeth this year. In fact, there are some easy steps you can take that will drastically lessen your risks for Halloween-induced cavities!
- Choose Wisely: If you are like most, you have a wide variety of candies to choose from after trick-or-treating. If possible, go for the chocolate instead of the sticky or hard treats. Chocolate has a much less chance of sticking to your teeth or causing tooth fractures from biting down.
- Carry a Water Bottle: Simply sipping water throughout your trick-or-treating and candy eating hours will do wonders to protect your teeth. Water can rinse away the lingering sugars and candy particles that you’ve consumed between houses. Minimizing the time that sugars stay on the teeth is crucial to preventing problems.
- Binge Instead of Graze: While this may not suit your stomach as well, when it comes to your teeth, it is actually better to eat your candy all at once instead of snacking or grazing on your candy bag throughout the day (or week). Don’t forget to follow up your binge with a good brushing and flossing! This protects your smile from getting trapped underneath all that sugar for several hours.
- Don’t Forget to Brush: At the end of the night, you probably have some very tired goblins and ghosts to put to bed. It can be tempting to let them crash before brushing their teeth, but this is not the night to miss such an important task for their smile health. Take two extra minutes before bed and conclude your Halloween night with a diligent brushing session.
For more tips on how to protect your teeth this Halloween, contact Napa Valley Dental Group. If Halloween does result in dental damage or another type of oral health concern, we are happy to address it.
Posted on Behalf of Napa Valley Dental Group