Halloween is upon us and the shops are full of sweet treats aimed at children.
With tooth decay becoming more and more common among young children, Halloween is a real nightmare for teeth. We want to help parents to take extra care of their children’s oral health over the spooky period.
Here are our top tips on how to keep your children’s teeth in the best possible condition throughout Halloween.
Maintain a good oral hygiene routine
It is important to keep up your child’s daily oral hygiene routine during the Halloween period, as well as other celebrations during the year like Easter, Christmas and birthdays. When they have a great oral hygiene routine, you will be automatically reducing their chances of developing tooth decay.
Make sure their teeth are being brushed, with fluoride toothpaste twice a day, for two minutes each time. If you are unsure of the correct brushing technique, ask your dentist to show you.
Choose their sweets wisely
We’re not saying your children can’t have any sweets at all – we even enjoy some ourselves from time to time. The truth is, we recommend reducing the amount that they eat.
There are also certain sweets that are better than others when it comes to teeth. Hard boiled sweets are bad for teeth. This is because they take a long time to suck, meaning the mouth is exposed to the sugar for a longer period of time. This also applies to sticky sweets like toffees, and even dried fruit!
The best sweets to choose are sugar-free options, dark chocolate and nut bars. If those don’t satisfy your child’s sweet fix, try to choose sweets that aren’t sticky to prevent them getting stuck in their teeth. Sweets like candy sticks are a great choice as they dissolve quickly.
Only eat sweets at mealtimes
When it comes to consuming sugar, it is important to remember that it’s not the quantity you have, it’s how often you eat them. For example, eating 4 boiled sweets in one hour is better for your teeth than having the same amount of sweets in the space of four hours. This is because you are reducing the amount of time your teeth are exposed to the bacteria that’s in sugary foods.
When teeth are exposed to sugary foods, bacteria develop quickly on the teeth which turn into plaque. If plaque is not removed, it will start to eat away at the enamel and it cannot repair itself and this can often lead to tooth decay.
We would recommend eating sugary foods at mealtimes only, as a dessert. This means you are controlling the amount of time your child’s teeth will be exposed to the bacteria.
At The Dentist at Liberty Place, our dentists are here to help and advise you of the best way you can look after yours and your children’s teeth all year round, not just at Halloween. To book an appointment with us, call us on 0121 633 9535.