Maintaining good dental health during and after Halloween can be challenging. But it is manageable if you have practical strategies, like discriminating the amount and kinds of candy you enjoy as well as the times that you consume them. While candy consumption causes dentist appointments to increase rapidly after Halloween, that period is also a good time for a check-up from a trusted general dentistry professional.
Smile Reston Heights is among the top dental practices in the Herndon, VA, area, serving numerous patients for many years. Our dedicated staff and practitioners have great experience in providing top-quality general, cosmetic, and restorative dental services. We want to serve you and your loved ones throughout the year, so we offer affordable payment options and flexible scheduling.
Below, we provide general dentistry tips to address the dental issues that may occur during Halloween:
Minimize Candy/Sugar Intake
Our first and simplest piece of advice is to minimize the amount of sugar that you and your loved ones eat during the season. You should also avoid sugary beverages, including:
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- Sodas/Fountain Drinks
- Flavored waters
- Sports drinks
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These beverages contain high concentrations of sugar, and when consumed during Halloween, they can exponentially increase the risk of tooth decay. Avoid that outcome by minimizing the number of sugary beverages and snacks that you consume.
Also, once trick-or-treating is done and the leftover candy remains lying around, eat small portions at a time or even consider chewing xylitol gum as a substitute. As we’ve mentioned previously, chewing xylitol gum offers many benefits, including that you can be one of the few who don’t need a dental checkup soon after the holiday.
Enjoy At The Right Time
Interestingly, there is a “right” time to enjoy your sweets and waiting until then is one way to help prevent harmful tooth decay during and after Halloween. The best time for you and your loved ones to eat candy–along with other sugary snacks–is with or shortly after a meal.
During your meals, your mouth produces increased amounts of saliva, which naturally rinses food particles away and negates the acids produced by bacteria that cause tooth decay. Simply put, eat your desserts after dinner—you’ll have a much easier time protecting your oral health this Halloween.
Be Selective For Your Teeth
Another way to keep you and your loved ones’ teeth safe from cavities and decay is by being selective of the types of candy you indulge in this Halloween. Certain candies have a greater impact on your oral health than others.
The candies you should avoid consuming are:
- Hard candies like Lifesavers, Jolly Ranchers, Werther’s caramels, etc.
- Sticky candies like Gummy bears/worms, Laffy Taffy, toffees, etc.
According to Mouth Healthy, a website on oral health provided by the American Dental Association, the length of time that a sugary food remains in your mouth heavily contributes to tooth decay.
Instead, we recommend eating candies that are quicker and easier to chew and consume, like chocolate. In addition, you can also chew some sugarless gum before eating your candy, as it provides the same effect as eating candy after a meal. It also helps produce high amounts of saliva that wash away and neutralize bacteria-made acid from within your mouth, reducing the risk of tooth decay.
Smile Reston Heights: Top Quality General Dentistry in Herndon, VA
The above are just a few things you and your loved ones can do to protect your oral health this Halloween. At Smile Reston Heights, we genuinely care for our patients’ smiles. We want everyone to enjoy the benefits of having bright smiles and excellent oral health. Our experienced staff and dentists ensure many of our patients get the best general dentistry, cosmetic dentistry, and restorative dental services possible. We also provide flexible scheduling and affordable payment options to serve as many patients as possible throughout Hendon, VA. Contact us today at (703) 345-1100 to learn more about our services and what we can do for you this fall season.