Trick or Teeth! Tips to a Healthy Halloween!

With Halloween right around the corner, free candy can be tempting for kids and even for adults too.

 Bonita Del Rey Dental Care wants to help ensure you and your family’s oral health is up to par during this spooky season. The American Dental Association and the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry have a few tips and tricks to keep your family’s teeth healthy this Halloween:  

• Don’t allow sticky treats on your family’s teeth. Gummy candy can cling to your teeth and increase your risk for tooth decay. Try to stay away from caramel, gummy bears and taffy, since these types of sweets stick to the teeth for a long time.
•  Don’t forget to brush and floss your teeth after every meal and especially after eating your Halloween treats. Brushing and flossing every day is essential, be sure that your children brush their teeth soon after eating any sugary sweets, especially on Halloween. Brushing ensures that sugar will not be sitting on your teeth all night. Flossing at least once a day removes any decay-causing germs between your teeth that your toothbrush bristles can’t reach.  

• Drink plenty of water. Make sure your family drinks plenty of water while eating candies. Drinking water can help your family prevent cavities.

•  Limit the amount of candy your family consumes. Limit the number of sweets you and your kids consume in a day. A better idea is to store the candy out of reach of the kids. Always control when and how many sweets you and your kids can eat. Then have your children immediately brush their teeth to neutralize the sugar. 

Remember, keep Halloween fun. The fun of Halloween trick-or-treating is a massive part of their childhood and ends so quickly. Soon, your kids will be in high-school, and the days of escorting them around the neighborhood clad in cute costumes to collect candy will be long gone.  

Enjoy these tricky treats in moderation while doing minimal damage to your teeth. The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry is the leading national advocate dedicated exclusively to children’s oral health. For more information about your kids dental health or about the organization, please visit: https://mouthmonsters.mychildrensteeth.org/