It’s almost the beginning of the holiday season, with Halloween quickly approaching to start it all off. Along with it comes a tidal wave of candy and other sugary treats that will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth, but likely leave it with some tooth decay as well. All of that sugar will quickly turn into harmful plaque, that will eat away at your teeth faster than you can reach for that next candy bar.
If you want your smile to make it through this spooky holiday with your smile unscathed by the sugar onslaught, then follow these helpful tips from Tollgate Orthodontics about how you can take care of your teeth this Halloween.
Minimize Sticky Or Hard Candies
The thing with sticky and hard candies that makes them so bad for your teeth is that they stay in your mouth for a long time compared to other sweets. Things like taffy or gummy candies stick to your teeth and don’t get washed away naturally with your saliva, meaning that all that sugar is getting direct contact with your teeth which is the perfect time to start eating away at your enamel. The same goes for hard candies, which usually you keep in your mouth for an extended period of time as it wears away, keeping your teeth exposed to all that sugar the whole time. If you can bear it, avoiding these types of candies will leave your teeth and smile much better off.
Eat Your Candy With Your Meals
While brushing, flossing, and rinsing is definitely a daily necessity, our bodies have their own way of washing away food particles naturally: saliva. When you’re eating a meal, our bodies will kick our saliva production into high gear, helping wash away all of that food as we eat. By eating your Halloween candy with you daily meals, you’ll wash away some of those harmful acids created by the sugar, protecting your teeth from damage. However, this won’t wash away everything, so you should still carry out your normal oral hygiene routine after the meal.
Don’t Eat It All Yourself!
Whether you have leftover candy that you didn’t get to hand out to kids, or you went trick or treating and came home with the mother of all candy stashes, the great responsibility of eating all of that candy doesn’t have to be yours alone. Share with your friends and family, or donate the candy to a good cause. Whoever got to share in your candy haul will thank you for it, and your teeth will be thanking you for not subjecting them to destruction by sugar.
Brush, Floss, & Rinse!
You could have probably expected to hear this from us, but as the local orthodontic office for East Greenwich, Jamestown, Warwick, we want to make sure we keep seeing bright, healthy smiles once Halloween is in the past. Other than regular visits to us and your dentist for checkups and cleanings, a consistent and thorough oral hygiene routine is the best way to keep your teeth healthy. A good routine will clear away all remaining food particles from that candy, and leave your teeth feeling clean and healthy. Just make sure you do this routine after every meal or every mid-day/night candy snack.
Contact Us For More Halloween Tips!
For more tips on how you can keep your smile looking radiant through Halloween and even the rest of the holiday season, just contact us at Tollgate Orthodontics. Our staff loves answering patient questions, so they’ll be more than happy to get you all of the information you need. While we hope you put these tips to good use for the holiday, you can always schedule an appointment with us when you’re in need of some professional orthodontic assistance. We hope you and your family have a fun and safe Halloween this year!