5 Ways to Avoid Oral Health Issues This Halloween

The Halloween season is quickly approaching, and your children are excited to trick-or-treat with their friends. Though it’s sure to be a fun and festive time, the sharp increase in candy available to your kids can be incredibly harmful to their oral health. Along with making sure they brush and floss regularly, what else can you do to help them avoid an oral health disaster? Follow these five Halloween oral health tips to ensure their smiles stay healthy and bright.

Tip #1: Plan Ahead

By mapping out a route before you and your children leave the house to go trick-or-treating, you can come up with the best strategy for their teeth. You can also limit the number of houses your kids can visit and encourage them to be more selective about the candy they choose so they don’t end up with an excessive number of treats.

Tip #2: Eat Beforehand

Feed your children dinner before trick-or-treating to discourage them from grabbing as much candy as they can. Tooth-healthy options include lean meats, seafood, leafy greens, cheese, yogurt, and broccoli. Make sure they eat a healthy snack when going through their Halloween candy haul as well.

Tip #3: Teach Them Restraint

Teach your kids about the ways sugar can harm their teeth and why it’s important to eat candy in moderation. This will deter them from consuming large amounts of candy at one time. We also recommend storing their Halloween candy somewhere they can’t access so they can only have some when you give it to them.

Tip #4: Candy Trade-in

Buy fun Halloween accessories, plush toys, slime, stickers, and other goodies for your children to trade their candy in for. Healthier candy options such as dark chocolate and sugar-free gum are also good options to lessen the amount of sugar they consume.

Tip #5: Drink More Water

Make sure your kids drink plenty of water while they eat their candy to wash away some of the sugar in their mouths and make it more difficult for cavities to develop. Water can also make them feel fuller faster so they won’t eat as much candy at one time.

Whether it’s spooky season or any other time of the year, it’s important to teach your child about good dental health practices. With these five tips, a good oral health regime, and regular visits to the dentist, your child can enjoy a fun, healthy Halloween!

About the Practice

The talented Grand Island team at Stec & Stines Cosmetic & Family Dentistry aims to help patients of all ages beautify their smiles. They offer a number of services that can help growing smiles stay as bright and beautiful as can be and pride themselves on administering personalized care. Whether you need a regular checkup or to have a damaged tooth repaired, Stec & Stines Cosmetic & Family Dentistry is ready to help. For more information on how they can help your children maintain healthy, happy, and beautiful smiles, call their office at (308) 382-4440 or visit their website.