Discovery Health : Dirty Mouth

10/26/2012

Many children will venture out to “trick or treat” this year. Family, friends, and schools will celebrate the festive season. While Halloween may be fun, it may present some safety challenges with the mouth.

Halloween is traditionally celebrated by marching from house to house asking for candy. Candy causes cavities. And it only takes seven minutes…and that’s why cavities are the number one chronic disease in children.

Here are some tips to keep the kids healthy from a dental perspective during Halloween:

1. Delay eating the candy until you get home.

2. Avoid sticky candies that can get stuck into the grooves of back teeth. Sticky candy can start to promote acid damage to teeth.

3. Restrict eating candy to only with meals. This way your kids ingest less and the saliva will help to reduce cavities.

4. Keep the candy in reserve and only bring out for the kids after meals.

5. Have the kids get their toothbrush out and apply toothpaste, floss and mouthwash too, before eating the candy. This reinforces good cleaning / prevention habits.

6. Look inside your child’s mouth after brushing, if there are visible signs of candy stuck in the grooves of back teeth, brush again. Then, look again to determine if all the candy has been removed.

7. Have chewing gum available that contains xylitol. Xylitol helps to prevent cavities caused by eating Halloween candy. Chewing gum when away from the toothbrush can assist in cleansing the candy particles away from their teeth.

8. Rinse with a fluoride mouthwash after eating the candy. Fluoride helps to prevent cavities and strengthen teeth.

9. Floss to remove candy stuck between teeth.

10. Alternatively, encourage your kids to eat healthier foods.

11. If your kid’s teeth are sensitive to hot, cold, or sweets – visit with your dentist as soon as possible, for they may have a cavity.

For More Dental Wisdom:

Dental Disease Overview

5 Common Dental Myths

DIY Dental Tools

Comments

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It is important to remember, use this kind of toothpaste will be ineffective if the sense of pain that arises in the teeth caused by a hole that has reached the nerve of the tooth. If so, care is needed dental nerve by a dentist.

Posted by: Hulbert Dental | 11/04/2012 at 09:07 AM