18 Oct Dental Tips for Parents: How to Have a Cavity-Free Halloween
Halloween can be a dangerous time for teeth. As we all know, sugar causes cavities, but that doesn’t mean you have to deny your kids the pleasure of trick-or-treat. Follow these tips to keep your kids smiling and cavity-free.
Five Tips for a Cavity-Free Halloween
1: Avoid the Worst Candy for Teeth
- Hard candy (like jawbreakers) can scratch the tooth enamel and even chip or crack their teeth.
- Caramel popcorn and popcorn balls should be avoided, because the hulls can get stuck in between the teeth or wedged beneath the gums.
- Sticky treats like taffy, candied apples, and fruit leather can get stuck to their teeth, leaving a treat for cavity-causing bacteria.
2: Offer Sugar-Free Treats
- “Sugar-free treats” might sound like a trick, but you can use stevia to make tasty, tooth-friendly brownies, cakes, and cookies. You can even try making stevia-sweetened chocolate bars or gummy bears, if you dare!
- Add some sugar-free gum to the candy haul if your kids are old enough. Chewing gum helps stimulate saliva production, which neutralizes the acid attacks that cause cavities.
3: Prepare Healthy Snacks and Meals
- Eating candy all day long is never good for kids’ teeth, so do what you can to balance out all the sugar with healthy snacks and meals. For example, skip the breakfast cereal and make a fresh fruit and yogurt bowl instead. Carrot sticks and ranch dip or sliced apples and almond butter make a great snack or side for lunch. The crunchy apples and carrots will “brush” your kids’ teeth as they chew, and the calcium in the ranch dip or almond butter will strengthen their tooth enamel.
4: Push the Water
- When your kids are eating candy, make sure they’re drinking plenty of water, too. Water will help wash away some of that residual sugar and reduce the number of harmful bacteria in their mouths. Drinking water not only keeps their mouths cleaner, it also helps prevent stains from all those heavily-dyed Halloween candies.
5: Emphasize Brushing and Flossing
- Make sure your kids are brushing and flossing their teeth before they go to sleep. Leaving sugar stuck in their mouths overnight is the easiest way for cavities to get started. And then, make sure they brush again in the morning. This will get rid of any plaque that builds up during the night, and help protect their tooth enamel throughout the day.
Holistic Dental Care for the Whole Family in Prescott, Arizona
Worried about Halloween candy and cavities? Schedule a dental exam for your kids today! We’ll give them a thorough checkup and make sure their teeth are cavity-free. And we’re always happy to offer dental tips to parents who want their kids to have healthy teeth. Fill out our contact form to make an appointment or give us a call at 928-445-1660.
Photo by Mary Jane Duford on Unsplash used with permission under the Creative Commons license for commercial use 10/14/24.