The ‘Nightmare’ Impact Of Halloween On Our Teeth

October 31st is only a few days away now. Here are some tips to help minimise the potential damage from sweets on young teeth.

Once very much a ‘fringe’ occasion, Halloween has really taken off over the last few years, perhaps spurred on by a combination of kids ‘horror shows’ from the USA, combined with the opportunity for businesses to make some money from merchandise.  While the horror aspect does appeal to kids, perhaps the key motivation for them is the opportunity to indulge, or perhaps over indulge, in a festival of bingeing on sweets.

To see a child arriving home from an evening with a big smile on their face and an even bigger ‘haul’ of sweets can be very worrying for a parent. All is not lost though and although they probably will eat more sweets than they should, whatever we do, there are things that Wickford parents can do to help minimise any damage caused to their young teeth and gums at this time.

Reduce the sweets

The most obvious thing to try to do is to reduce the number of sweets that they have. This is unlikely to go down well unless you can find some sort of compromise. There are a number of options here. You could, for example, offer to trade the sweets for a day at the seaside or perhaps a trip to the cinema or similar, whatever your child is likely to accept.

Even before this, it is worth trying to provide them with a smaller bag to collect the sweets in. Children do, however, become quite resourceful where sweets are involved and may still come home with pockets stuffed with far more sweets than ever.

For very small children, a visit from the ‘switch witch’ might help. Similar to the idea of leaving carrots for the reindeer at Christmas, encourage them to leave some sweets out for the switch witch and then replace the sweets while they are asleep with a small toy or similar, in their place.

One word of warning for adults. Reducing the number of sweets by taking them away doesn’t mean that you should eat them instead!

Allow the less damaging sweets

Not all sweets are equal and although most contain high quantities of sugar, some are more damaging to teeth than others. Sweets like chocolate for example, are less problematic than sticky sweets like toffee which stick to the teeth for longer and can do more damage such as cause tooth decay.  Chocolate on the other hand, is more easily washed away. You can try to negotiate reducing the number of the stickier sweets for the best results.

Encourage water drinking

Hyped on sugar, there is every chance that your child will become thirsty and reach for the popular fizzy drinks. These high sugar drinks may wash away some of the sugars left behind by sweets but will only replace them with their own sugars. Encouraging your child to drink water will be far more beneficial and will help to wash away some of the sugars without leaving new ones behind.

Supervision

Perhaps your child is old enough to brush their own teeth but Halloween is one night when it does pay to supervise them while they do so. A child fuelled by sugar is likely to become tired and irritable and will happily go to bed with either a minimal brushing of their teeth or not at all. This is very bad news for their teeth and gums as sugar would then be left on their teeth and gums while they sleep. Do try to supervise them and make sure that they brush their teeth well before they go to bed. Where possible, try also to get them to floss between their teeth as well.

Dental appointments

If nothing else positive comes from Halloween from an oral health perspective, this festive (over) consumption of sweets should at least encourage you to make sure that you have appointments booked at the Cygnet Dental Practice, not only for yourself but for your children too. Regular check ups are essential for maintaining healthy teeth. Seeing the hygienist is also strongly recommended and is extremely beneficial not only for adults, but for younger children too.

If you don’t have an appointment booked with us, a trip to our Wickford dental practice shortly after Halloween would be a good time to start. If you would like to book an appointment with us, or if you need any information regarding an oral care issue, please contact us today. You can do so by calling the Cygnet Dental Practice on 01268 733078.