Halloween will be here before you know it, and your family will have delicious confections in buckets! You might as well call it candy season because of the number of treats offered at every event this season. Everyone is in the mood to celebrate the change of season and indulge in their favorite spooky treats like candy corn, caramel apples, taffy, and more!

With some careful planning, you can help your family enjoy traditional ghoulish goodies without permanently damaging their teeth. Unfortunately, consuming a lot of candy often leads to cavities because sugar creates an environment in your mouth that is actively conducive to cavity formation, thanks to oral bacteria.

While some bacteria in the mouth are good and promote a healthy oral ecosystem, the rest are bad for you because they increase in number and thrive when you eat sugar. These bacteria then release harmful oral acids that weaken tooth enamel, allowing cavities to form.

Worst Candies for Teeth

While none of them are particularly good for you, some are worse than others. Avoid hard or chewy, sticky candy like the plague they are as these break down the protective tooth enamel layer:

• Taffy
• Hard-to-chew, sticky candy
• Jawbreakers
• Gummy candies
• Caramels and caramel apples
• Sour candies that are extra acidic

These sweets can also get trapped in between teeth. It makes it harder to clear this bacterial residue away. Normally, saliva works to wash away food particles except for between the teeth, so that is why you need to floss those spaces daily, especially after eating sweets. Fortunately, you have healthier options to protect your child’s teeth during the Halloween season!

Protecting Your Child’s Teeth

• Go through your child’s candy with them, take out the ones they can’t have (see list above), and donate those to your local fire department, homeless shelter, hospital, or senior citizen center. Giving also boosts your child’s self-esteem, makes them feel good about themselves while helping out their community and makes you feel better by protecting their smiles.
• Do not let your child graze on candies throughout the day. Offer them a particular time to enjoy their fun treats, and limit them to three pieces a day.
• Do not give your kids candy for their daily snacks. Stick to fruits and cheeses that are better for their teeth, and then allow some candy later.
• Soft candies that melt quickly are your kids’ (sort of) best friend. The fewer sugars and acids linger on their teeth, the better their teeth fare.
• October is not the time for your child to become lax on their daily oral hygiene habits. Now more than ever, they need to brush at least twice a day and floss at least once (preferably before bed, so no sugary residue sets up camp on their teeth while they sleep).
• Have your child wait half an hour before brushing after eating acidic foods and drinks. It allows the acid to wash away before brushing the enamel surface.
• Get sealants when your child sees the dentist. Sealants help the molars do much better by preventing cavities on those hard-to-reach and clean areas.
• Give your child access to plenty of water to refresh their mouth and body. Even rinsing with water after indulging in sweets can help wash away some sugar, so it doesn’t stick around on tooth surfaces.
• Limit candy treats to have with meals instead of randomly throughout the day. Chewing increases saliva production, which helps neutralize some of the oral acids, helping to wash away sugary food particles around their teeth.
• This Halloween, consider handing out fun toys instead of candy such as plastic spider rings, mini play-doh, stickers, or glow sticks.
• If your child has not seen the dentist yet for their next biannual dental cleaning and exam, fall is a great time to get their teeth cleaned and checked for potential developing problems.

Festive Family Halloween Fun

We hope these tooth-friendly tips help you and your child enjoy the frightful festivities while still taking good care of their “fangs.” Halloween is just the start of the holiday season. Dressing up in fun costumes, carving pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns, and decorating your home with skeletons, ghosts, bats, and witches hats are a fun time for everyone to enjoy Halloween!

Halloween is lurking around the corner, but so is the coronavirus, making traditional Halloween parties trickier. This year, big parties and parades, creepy haunted houses, and gathering in crowds to trick-or-treat are off the table for many, or at the very least, downsized and held outdoors while social distancing. While the traditional ways of celebrating Halloween may look different this year, your family can still stock up on Halloween candy and dress up for some squeamishly spooky fun.

Treat Your Teeth

The problem with sweets is that all that sugary goodness can wreak havoc on teeth and gums. When you snack on sugary treats, be sure to rinse your mouth well with water afterward or brush your teeth if possible. Avoid hard, chewy, or extra sticky candies like the plague to avoid damaging dental plaque!

Eerie Count Chocula

Chocolate is a better choice when getting your sweets on, as it melts quickly and doesn’t stress the chompers like taffy, caramel, or other hard, sticky candies typically do. It’s easier to clean chocolate off the teeth unless they are filled with caramel or nougat fillings. Candy season can also be made more tooth-friendly by drinking plenty of water to keep saliva levels optimal. Saliva helps wash away oral debris to reduce harmful plaque. Supply your child with mini water bottles and sugar-free gum when brushing their teeth is not possible. Help your family stick to a healthy diet in general, so teeth and gums stay strong during the treat-laden holiday season for the next three months.

Frightful Family Fun

To protect your child’s wickedly cute smile during this pumpkin season, you can do what some parents do and limit daily candy consumption! Some spread out a trick-or-treating haul throughout the month and make sure they clean their teeth after eating sugary goodies. Others limit treats to a few days around Halloween itself. Having your family eat their candy right after a meal can help minimize plaque and tartar. Whatever works best for you and your family’s traditions, remember to instill in them the lifelong habit of cleaning their teeth after enjoying sweet treats.

Creating Safe Halloween Smiles

Here are some spooktacular ideas to enjoy scaring your loved ones with some wicked good fun!

Tip: If a costume comes with a mask, consider wearing a safety mask under it. Double the mask, double the protection!

• Go all out this year by making or buying fun costumes for your family and taking lots of pictures to share on social media, send to extended family, or display in an album or on the wall!
• Join friends and extended family in a “virtual costume contest” and award prizes and treats that can be dropped off or delivered by your favorite delivery company (Instacart, Walmart or Amazon).
• Host a cool Zoom Halloween party, complete with scary music, games, or dance party for older kids.
• Buy your child’s favorite Halloween candy, plastic spiders and bats, spooky stickers, Halloween-themed pencils, and mini tubes of toothpaste and flosses and let them trick-or-treat door-to-door INSIDE your house!
• Check out your neighbors’ Halloween decorations while driving around, or masking up and walking around to wave at them from the sidewalk. If the neighbors are game, you can use Facebook or NextDoor to vote on the best decorations.
• Paint scary pumpkins and place them around the house or by your doorstep. For extra spooky fun, paint teeth on them and practice “brushing” with your little ones armed with a new superhero or other character-inspired children’s toothbrush just for them.
• Have a Rotten Witch Teeth guessing contest! Fill a clear jar with candy corn and have your kids guess how many wicked witch “rotten teeth” there are!
• Take your family to a drive-thru Halloween haunt! Instead of Christmas lights, you’re getting spooked from frightful Halloween decorations.
• Have a haunted skull glow-in-the-dark scavenger hunt! Fill plastic skulls with mini dental floss and toothpaste, sugar-free candy or gum, glow sticks, bracelets or necklaces, vampire teeth, or plastic spider rings to hunt for in the yard. If you can’t find skulls, mini plastic pumpkins or mummies are also fun!
• Decorate a Halloween candy tree (artificial or real) with creepy lights and treats, including travel-sized dental floss, glow sticks, toothpaste, and more (see ideas above), so kids can grab their own goodies from your porch or yard.
• Parade your child through the neighborhood to show off their cool costume and wave at your neighbors. When you come home, treat your child to a Halloween toy or goody bag instead of trick-or-treating.
• Have some scary family movie nights or a Halloween night macabre marathon with healthy treats. Spooky apple smiles (cored and quartered apples decorated with blanched slivered almond “teeth”), Clementine pumpkins (peeled and topped with a celery stick stalk), and banana ghosts (peeled bananas with chocolate chips for eyes and mouth) are a fun way to enjoy sweet treats safely!
• Anonymously drop off a Halloween goodie bag or decorated pumpkin on the doorsteps of a few friends, family or neighbors to spread some spooky cheer, contact-free! After dark, tip-toe silently to the front door, ring the doorbell, and then “ghost” them by dropping off a ghoulish goodie and hiding or running away.

Harrowing Halloween Fun for Families

Download one of these fun pumpkin carving stencils like Billy the Bicuspid, Count Bicuspid, Frankentooth’s molar, and more as well as Activity Sheets or Coloring Sheets:

https://www.mouthhealthy.org/en/resources/activity-sheets/halloween

From our dental family to yours, no matter how you celebrate Halloween this year, make it safe, healthy, and fun for all!

Happy October, everyone! It’s one of the spookiest seasons of the year, and one of the scariest things we can think of is having problems with our teeth and gums. Since October is National Dental Hygiene Month, we want to promote a healthy mouth for everyone by acknowledging the importance of your daily hygiene efforts. Healthy teeth and gums are the foundation of a healthy, beautiful smile!

Plaque

The mouth is full of living bacteria, some of which feed and thrive on carbohydrates and sugary drinks. These can release acids mixed with saliva and food particles to create a sticky bacterial film (plaque). As plaque builds up, it attacks and weakens tooth enamel, working its way through the softer dentin and tooth pulp below it to create decay and cavities.

Teeth with extensive decay often require a root canal treatment to save the tooth from the severe infection that has taken root. A root canal removes the bad bacteria and dead tissue that might otherwise require extracting the tooth.

Signs You Might Need a Root Canal

– Tooth pain or pain when chewing
– Sensitivity to hot and cold food and drinks
– Sensitive gums
– Gum infection
– Darkened or chipped teeth
– Swollen lymph nodes
– Oral trauma

What You Can Do

Did you know that the first known bristle toothbrush was invented in China in 1948? Unlike the smooth nylon-bristled brushes we use today, the original toothbrush used boar hairs attached to bamboo or bone handles. We don’t know about you, but we’re grateful for today’s toothbrushes!

To prevent damaged teeth, you’ll want to start by protecting your mouth from plaque. For example, drinks like soda, fruit juices, sports drinks, carbonated water and other acidic and sweetened beverages are pretty much a lifeline for oral bacteria that attach your teeth. To lessen plaque, limit these beverages, and when you drink them, use a straw to reduce contact on tooth enamel. Better choices include water, milk, low-sugar vegetable juice, and unsweetened green and black tea.

This year’s National Dental Hygiene Awareness Month focuses on four habits you need to practice daily:

Brush

Brush your teeth twice a day for two minutes each session with a soft-bristled toothbrush (no boars hair!). You want to gently clean them without harming the enamel or soft gum tissues. Make sure the head and shape of the brush fit comfortable in your mouth so you can get to the back areas to remove bacteria and food particles. Hold your brush at a 45-degree angle to your gums. Using short strokes, move your toothbrush back and forth to clean all tooth surfaces – outside, inside and the top of the molars – where the food is chewed. Make sure to clean those grooves and crevices. Use up-and-down-strokes to clean the inside of your front teeth.

Tip: Don’t forget to brush your tongue to get rid of plaque and freshen your breath.

Floss

Clean between your teeth once a day using a flossing tool of choice (one that makes you want to floss every day) to get rid of dental plaque your toothbrush can’t reach. Plaque buildup will cause it to harden into tartar or calculus, which has to be removed by a dental hygienist using special tools.

Rinse

Some areas of the mouth can’t get rid of plaque by brushing and flossing alone. Rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash daily destroys bacteria to prevent tooth decay and gum disease (infection of the oral tissue) from gaining hold. Your dentist can recommend a non-alcoholic antimicrobial rinse that is right for your needs.

Chew

Speaking of dry mouth, did you know that chewing sugarless gum for 20 minutes after you eat lessens the chances of tooth decay? That’s because chewing stimulates saliva glands to promote healthy saliva flow. Your saliva plays a vital role by rinsing away food particles and bacterial debris and neutralizes the acids from oral bacteria.

This month is a good time to toss out your old worn-out toothbrush and find a flossing method you will enjoy using every day. You’ll also want to thank your dental hygienist the next time you see them for all their efforts to make your smile the best it can be!

This is the month where we recognize our mothers for all their efforts and take the opportunity to thank them for all they have done, which may also include them teaching us how to brush and floss. As a mother, your oral health is important to both you and your family. When your teeth are strong and your gums healthy, you’ll feel better and be able to take care of your family. Mother’s Day is a reminder your smile is just as important, so now is the time to focus on your dental care needs.

Women face some unique oral health concerns that require routine oral care with the help of the dentist and at your own hand. Some of these circumstances include the following:

– Menstrual cycle: During the course of your menstrual cycle, your hormones can fluctuate and result in red, swollen and bleeding gums, as well as canker sores and cold sores.

– Hormonal birth control: If you use a pill, shot, UID or vaginal ring, your body may have increased levels of estrogen and progesterone, which can make your gums red and sensitive. Furthermore, changes in hormones can complicate tooth extraction by resulting in clotting failure. If you need to have a tooth removed, we encourage you to notify our dentist of your birth control method as well as any other medicine you take.

– Pregnancy gingivitis: Whether you are just starting a family or adding a wonderful little addition, pregnancy makes proper oral care more important than ever. During this time, many women develop pregnancy gingivitis, which can increase dental plaque due to hormonal changes as well as inflame and irritate the gums, even causing them to bleed.

– Menopause: Menopause causes estrogen levels to plummet, and this causes some women to experience a burning sensation in their mouths, a decreased saliva flow that causes dry mouth and an increased risk of osteoporosis that can lead to gum disease.

To prevent and manage these conditions so that you can have the healthy and beautiful smile you deserve, we encourage you to brush for two minutes twice a day as well as floss daily and reduce your intake of sugary snacks. It’s also important to visit your dentist every six months for dental checkups, or sooner if you feel something is not right in your mouth. If you are pregnant, we recommend getting a dental exam and cleaning more often.

Be sure to celebrate your mothers and grandmothers this month, and encourage them to take the time to attend to their own needs, especially their dental health. Our team welcomes the hardworking and loving mothers of our community to contact our dental office and schedule a consultation today!

February brings National Children’s Dental Health Month! This is brought to you by the American Dental Association to create child awareness of the benefits of good oral health. This year’s month-long campaign is, “Brush and clean in between to build a healthy smile.”

First Dental Visit

Around their first birthday, or within six months after their first tooth emerges, visit our dentist to make sure the teeth of your child are developing properly. According to the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, over 50 percent of children will have some kind of tooth decay before they turn five, so it is important for your child to attend early dental visits. We can address any oral hygiene questions you have and let you know when it is time to start using a toothbrush.

Let them see you brushing and flossing, and help them brush and floss their teeth. By following the 2-2-2 Rule (seeing the dentist twice a year and brushing and flossing twice a day for two minutes), you will develop healthy oral hygiene habits.

Brushing Technique

-Hold the toothbrush at a 45° angle and brush along the gum line.
-Brush each tooth in a back and forth, up and down motion.
-Clean the inside, outside, back and top surfaces of each tooth.
-Gently wipe the tongue to remove bacteria.

Brush twice a day for two minutes each, giving the molars some extra attention. If your little one wants to help, you can take turns brushing or let them start and you finish. Don not let them share their toothbrush, and replace it when the bristles start to fray.

Flossing

When your child’s teeth touch, it is time to start flossing the areas that the toothbrush can’t clean. Whether it is dental floss, floss sticks/picks or oral irrigators, find a flossing tool that works best and use it!

Flossing Technique

-Using about 18 inches of floss, you can wrap an end around each of your middle fingers.
-Slide the floss between two teeth gently
-At the gum line, create a C-shape around each tooth
-Pull the floss tight to scrape against each tooth and repeat until all have been cleaned.

When your child’s manual dexterity and coordination is developed around six or seven years old, you can let them start brushing on their own. At this time, our dentist can also speak with you about fluoride and dental sealants to prevent cavities. Your child can usually floss by themselves by the time they are nine or ten.

Teen Care

High schoolers are often busy with school, sports and extracurricular activities, work and socializing, so you want to help them stick to their daily oral hygiene habits. They may be wearing braces, having wisdom teeth removed and feeling self-conscious about their smile (and their breath), so good oral hygiene habits can support their goals.

-Encourage them to use a timer, listen to their favorite song while brushing and flossing for two minutes, or switch to an electric toothbrush with a timer.
-Keep plenty of dental hygiene supplies in stock such as soft toothbrushes, flavored flosses, toothpaste and a toothbrush for their backpack when they are on the go.
-Keep fruits and vegetables handy instead of junk food for healthier snacking.
-If they are active in sports, supply them with an athletic guard to protect teeth from being chipped, cracked or lost.
-Talk to your teen about peer-pressure activities that can damage his or her smile like smoking, drinking or getting an oral piercing.

Your teens want to look and feel their best, so support their efforts for maintaining those oral habits instilled in their childhood. This month is a good time to reinforce good habits and provide your children and teens with the tools and support they need for a lifetime of healthy smiles!