Oral Safety Tips For Your Children This Halloween

15 Oct Oral Safety Tips For Your Children This Halloween

The spookiest holiday of the year is right around the corner. Here are some ways you can prevent your children from facing their worst Halloween nightmare… the dentist chair.

The American Dental Association (ADA) recommends consuming Halloween candy and other sugary snacks after a meal. The excess saliva produced by your mouth during mealtime will neutralize some of the acids formed by bacteria while also helping to flush out food debris.

Monitor daily candy consumption. Allow kids to eat a treat or two a day, and stay true to that number. This is a great way to protect their teeth and to avoid having them jumping off the walls before bed!

Avoid squishy, sticky candies. These can get stuck in between the teeth and stay there for long periods of time as the candy slowly dissolves.

Encourage sugar-free candy and dark chocolate. Sugar-free gum can actually prevent cavities as it not only dislodges food particles from between the teeth, but also increases saliva. Dark chocolate and its antioxidants can be good for the heart and may even lower blood pressure.

Serve your children milk or cheese with holiday candies and treats. Dairy acts as a buffer to the acids produced by oral bacteria, decreasing the possibility of tooth decay.

Donate excess candy to a food bank. Go through all of the candy your children have collected and select some to donate. This is a fun project for you and your children and a great way to avoid wasting food.

Dental Partners of Fifth Avenue wishes you a safe and healthy Halloween!