Halloween hacks

Halloween can be a very difficult time to take care of your teeth. The excitement, the late night, the sugar — there are so many factors working against the mouth. Prevention is the key to oral health. Here are some hacks that will help save your family’s teeth from the effects of all that Halloween candy.

First: before all of the sugary treats, try to get yourself and your kids on a good routine of twice daily brushing and daily flossing. Plaque becomes acidic enough to cause enamel damage after roughly eight hours. Good plaque control equals fewer cavities.

On Halloween night it is hard to say “No candy” when the kids have just collected it! Instead, ask the kids to pick their top choice, but first make sure they agree to brush and floss before bed no matter how tired they are.

If you go trick-or-treating late or end up at a friend’s or family member’s house afterwards, take your toothbrushes and floss so you can clean up before the exhausting car ride home.

In the days following Halloween, the experts agree that binging on the sugary treats is far safer than having a couple of treats each day for weeks or months. So eat up for a few days and then put it away for a rainy day or throw it out.

Making sure that your water consumption is really high is another great way to help reduce damage. High water intake can help flush sugar out of the mouth but will also allow production of saliva which has minerals in it to remineralize or strengthen the teeth!

Also consider using anticariogenic foods after eating sugar. These include dark chocolate, black licorice, or hard cheese. Snacking on these things after meals and after Halloween treats can really slow, and sometimes kill, the bacteria and fungus that cause cavities in the teeth.

Lastly, after binging on sugary snacks for a few days or even a week all of the favourites are gone. Seriously consider tossing the rest. It won’t be missed by then.

Have a safe and Happy Halloween!

About the author: Marcia Rutledge is an independent dental hygienist  who owns and operates the Barry’s Bay Dental Hygiene Clinic. She opened up her Clinic in July of 2010 and has been providing dental hygiene services to the community since. Preventive dentistry is Marcia’s passion.

Photo Philip Hay